Parent bonding in clinically depressed deaf and hard-of-hearing adults

Abstract

This study assessed the relationships between parent communication variables and the parent bonding factors of care and overprotection using a sample of 38 deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals connected with mental health services who had DSM-III-R or DSM-IV diagnoses of depression-related disorders. The 22 therapists working with these individuals also contributed to data collection. Results based on revised depression (BDI-R) and parent bonding (PBI-R) questionnaires, together with background data from both clients and therapists, indicate that higher ratings of depression are associated with less perceived care by mother and greater perceived overprotection by both mother and father. Paternal care and overprotection were negatively correlated, as were maternal care and overprotection. In comparison to hard-of-hearing counterparts, deaf participants were less depressed and had more positive ratings of communication with their parents. The BDI-R scores positively and significantly correlated with coded severity of diagnosis. Due to the small sample size, findings are suggestive. Further study is warranted.