Parent-child attachment in deaf toddlers: A comparative study

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Faculty of psychology and educaion, university of tehran. tehran, iran

2 Faculty of Psychology and Education, Allameh Tabataba'i University

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate attachment in deaf toddlers and compare the results with their hearing peers. The study was a descriptive retrospective one. The population included all profound deaf toddlers of 10-24 months who had referred to Iran Cochlear Implant Center and were in cochlear Implant waiting list. 37 deaf toddlers were selected whose average age was 13.24by random sampling and were compared to 30 normal children with the average age of 11.16 in terms of child-parent attachment. Maternal Postnatal Attachment Scale (MPAS: Condon & Corkindale) was completed by mothers of both hearing and deaf groups. Data analysis was done by multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and independent t-test in SPSS22. The results showed that there was no significant difference between the hearing and deaf groups in terms of the total score of attachment and its subscales, including attachment quality, absence of hostility and pleasure in interaction (P<0.001). It seems that, deafness in children alone would not reduce maternal attachment to their mothers. Factors such as the age of intervention, parents’ sensitivity and accountability level, and social support to facilitate the acceptance of deafness affect the quality of parent-child attachment.

Keywords

References

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Empowering Exceptional Children
Volume 10, Issue 4
May 2020
Pages 121-130

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History

  • Receive Date: 29 December 2019
  • Revise Date: 02 April 2020
  • Accept Date: 20 April 2020

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