Stress and coping in hearing mothers of children with hearing loss: Factors affecting mother and child adjustment

The present study examines maternal and child adjustment as a result of the application of a stress and coping model (Folkman, Schaefer, & Lazarus 1979) to factors associated with having a school-aged child with a hearing loss. Thirty-six hearing mothers of children with hearing loss participated in the study. Information was gathered through parent and teacher questionnaires and home interviews and observations. Results indicated that (a) social support emerged as an important predictor of maternal adjustment as well as a buffer between current life stress and maternal adjustment, and (b) maternal problem-solving skill emerged as a significant predictor of child adjustment and as a mediating factor between child's age and teacher rating of child adjustment. The discussion focuses on possible explanations for these findings, the utility of a competency-based rather than psychopathology-based perspective in understanding parent and child outcomes, and implications for intervention strategies.