Current State of Knowledge: Psychosocial Development in Children with Hearing Impairment

In Brief The purpose of this review is to synthesize historical and recent evidence concerning psychosocial development in children with mild to severe hearing impairment. Included are studies of quality of life, social-emotional development, self-concept, and social access. Concerns are raised about sampling issues and limited consistency in measurement strategies used. Interdisciplinary perspectives on social-emotional learning and development are integrated in an effort to identify research gaps and suggest future research needs. The need for prospective studies involving a new generation of children with early access to amplification is stressed. This review synthesizes the evidence concerning psychosocial development in children with mild to severe sensorineural hearing impairment. An interdisciplinary perspective is adopted to examine social-emotional learning and development, including Quality of Life (QoL), self-concept, and social access. Gaps in our empirical knowledge are highlighted to identify further research needs. Concerns are raised about sampling issues and a lack of consistency in measurement strategies. The need to study prospectively a new generation of children with early access to amplification is stressed.