title: Parental stress among parents of toddlers with moderate hearing loss.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The purpose of this study was to examine parental stress in parents of toddlers with moderate hearing loss compared to hearing controls. Furthermore, the associations between parental stress and child- and parent-related factors such as language, social-emotional functioning and social support were examined.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study sample consisted of 30 toddlers with moderate hearing loss and 30 hearing children (mean age 27.4 months). The two groups were compared using the Nijmegen Parenting Stress Index (NPSI) and parent-reports to rate the amount of social support and the children's social-emotional functioning. Receptive and expressive language tests were administered to the children to examine their language ability.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Parents of toddlers with moderate hearing loss reported comparable levels of parental stress to parents of hearing children. Individual differences in parental stress were related to child- and parent-related factors. Poorer social-emotional functioning and language ability of the child were related to higher stress levels in parents. Parents who experienced less social support reported higher stress levels.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Parents of toddlers with moderate hearing loss experience no more parental stress than parents of hearing children on average. Given parental stress was found to be related to poorer child functioning, early interventionists should be aware of signs of elevated stress levels in parents.
authors.affiliation: Dutch Foundation for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Child, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Developmental Psychology, Leiden University, The Netherlands. Electronic address: edirks@nsdsk.nl.
authors.forename: Evelien
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dirks
authors.affiliation: Dutch Foundation for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Child, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Noëlle
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Uilenburg
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental Psychology, Leiden University, The Netherlands; Dutch Foundation for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Child, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Carolien
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rieffe
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006310:Hearing Aids; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007804:Language Development; D007807:Language Tests; D008297:Male; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012919:Social Behavior; D012944:Social Support; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Moderate hearing loss; Parental stress; Toddlers