Evaluation of behavioral and emotional problems in deaf children by using the child behavior checklist

Objective: There are big discrepancies among the reported prevalence rates of emotional/behavioral problems for deaf children. We aimed to evaluate the prevalence rate of emotional and behavioral problems and to assess the effect of subject characteristics on these problems in a group of deaf Turkish children and adolescents. Method: Seventy-two students from a regional residential school for the deaf children and adolescents, aged 6 to 18 years, were recruited as the study group. The control group consisted of 45 age-matched healthy children and adolescents. A questionnaire on sociodemographic features and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) were administered to the parents of the children and adolescents. Results: The deaf students group showed significantly more internalizing problems than controls. The largest difference was found for the Anxious/Depressed and Somatic Complaints scale. Deaf adolescents aged between 12 and 18 years had significantly higher anxious/depressed and somatic complaints subscores of CBCL than deaf children aged between 6 and 11 years. Furthermore girls had significantly higher subscores of Anxious/Depressed and Somatic Complaints than the boys in the deaf group. The correlation analysis revealed that degree of hearing loss, academic achievement, and teacher-rated communication level were not related to any emotional or behavioral problems. Conclusion: Deaf children and adolescents have more internalizing problems than normal hearing controls. The results underline the need of screening the deaf children and adolescents more often concerning their mental health.