Identity Issues for Hard-of-Hearing Adolescents Aged 11, 13, and 15 in Mainstream Setting

This study examined identity issues and aspects of the health behaviors of mainstreamed hard-of-hearing (HOH) students aged 11, 13, and 15 compared with their peers. A sample of 52 HOH students was matched with 470 peers of the same age, gender, and ethnicity. A survey based on the World Health Organization Health Behaviours of School Aged Children was administered and the results of the hearing and the HOH groups compared. Although there were few statistically significant differences, there were indications that the HOH students more often experienced a sense of loneliness than their hearing peers did. The majority of HOH students (55.8%) did not self-identify as having a hearing disability. When examined by the willingness to self-identify, the reported frequencies of loneliness and bullying were statistically significant. These findings support the view that the school experience of a significant number of mainstreamed HOH students is not supportive. Those students who do self-identify are physically and psychologically more at risk. The reluctance to self-identify may reflect the prevalence of negative stigma.