Child maltreatment and trauma exposure among deaf and hard of hearing young adults

Abstract The purpose of the present study was to examine the prevalence of child maltreatment and lifetime exposure to other traumatic events in a sample of deaf and hard of hearing (DHH; n = 147) and matched hearing (H; n = 317) college students. Participants completed measures of child maltreatmen...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Child abuse & neglect Vol. 38; no. 10; pp. 1581 - 1589
Main Authors:	Schenkel, Lindsay S, Rothman-Marshall, Gail, Schlehofer, Deirdre A, Towne, Terra L, Burnash, Danielle L, Priddy, Brittney M
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01-10-2014 Elsevier Elsevier Science Ltd
Subjects:	Adult Adults Biological and medical sciences Child Child Abuse Child abuse & neglect Child Abuse - psychology Child Abuse - statistics & numerical data Child maltreatment College Students Crime Victims - psychology Crime Victims - statistics & numerical data Deafness Deafness - epidemiology Deafness - psychology Ear, auditive nerve, cochleovestibular tract, facial nerve: diseases, semeiology Female Hearing Disorders - epidemiology Hearing Disorders - psychology Humans Male Medical sciences New York City - epidemiology Non tumoral diseases Otorhinolaryngology. Stomatology Pediatrics Post traumatic stress disorder Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Psychiatry Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry Psychopathology. Psychiatry Regression analysis Risk assessment Risk Factors Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - epidemiology Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - psychology Stress Disorders, Traumatic - epidemiology Stress Disorders, Traumatic - psychology Trauma Victimization Victimology Violence - psychology Violence - statistics & numerical data Young Adult Young adults New York City Deafness Victimization Posttraumatic stress disorder Child maltreatment Human Prevalence Anxiety disorder University environment Auditory disorder Victimology Student Epidemiology Hearing loss Concomitant disease Child abuse Young adult Early traumatism ENT disease Public health Antecedent
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	Abstract The purpose of the present study was to examine the prevalence of child maltreatment and lifetime exposure to other traumatic events in a sample of deaf and hard of hearing (DHH; n = 147) and matched hearing (H; n = 317) college students. Participants completed measures of child maltreatment (CM), adult victimization and trauma exposure, and current symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Overall, DHH participants reported significantly more instances of CM compared to H participants, with 76% of DHH reporting some type of childhood abuse or neglect. Additionally, DHH participants reported experiencing a higher number of different types of CM, and also reported increased incidents of lifetime trauma exposure and elevated PTSD symptoms. Severity of deafness increased the risk of maltreatment, with deaf participants reporting more instances of CM than hard of hearing participants, and hard of hearing participants reporting more instances of CM than H participants. Among DHH participants, having a deaf sibling was associated with reduced risk for victimization, and identification with the Deaf community was associated with fewer current symptoms of PTSD. A regression model including measures of childhood physical and sexual abuse significantly predicted adult re-victimization and accounted for 27% of the variance among DHH participants. DHH participants report significantly higher rates of CM, lifetime trauma, and PTSD symptoms compared to H participants. Severity of deafness appears to increase the risk of being victimized. Being part of the Deaf community and having access to others who are deaf appear to be important protective factors for psychological well-being among DHH individuals.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0145-2134 1873-7757
DOI:	10.1016/j.chiabu.2014.04.010