Behavior Problems in Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing Children: Contributions of Parental Stress and Parenting Styles

Relations between parental stress and children’s behavior problems have been studied, but the role of parenting styles in these relations remains to be clarified. For families of children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing (DHH), exploring the associations among the three factors (i.e., parental stress, parenting styles, and children’s behavior problems) can help provide a more appropriate developmental environment for DHH children. In this study, 100 parents of hearing children and 74 parents of DHH children from Hong Kong and Macau were surveyed to investigate the role of parenting styles in the relations between parental stress and children’s internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. We have several key findings. First, families with DHH children were more likely to engage in permissive parenting, and their children exhibited more externalizing and internalizing behavior problems than their hearing peers. Second, parents who experienced high levels of stress tended to adopt authoritarian and permissive parenting styles, regardless of their children’s hearing status. Third, authoritative parenting was related to fewer externalizing and internalizing problems in DHH children, but such an association was not found in hearing children. However, the relation that authoritarian parenting may contribute to more behavior problems was found in both groups. Implications for family interventions to decrease behavior problems in DHH and hearing children, as well as for future research, are discussed.