Speech intelligibility and its influence on mental health and selfesteem of adolescents with hearing impairment

Abstract

Aim: The study aimed to evaluate the relationship between speech intelligibility and mental health and self-esteem of adolescents with hearing impairment.

Materials and methods: The study sample comprised of 105 adolescents with hearing impairment, studying in selected special schools of Karnataka. The study employed a convenient sampling technique. The speech intelligibility was assessed by two naive listeners decoding adolescents as they pronounce twenty different digits from 0-99 and counting the percentage of a number of words correctly decoded by them. The self-esteem of hearing impaired adolescents was assessed by using a structured self-esteem rating scale, which was developed by the researcher. The mental health was assessed by using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire developed by Robert Goodman in 1998.

Results: There was no significant relationship between the speech intelligibility and mental health of adolescents with hearing impairment (ρ= 0.04). There was no significant correlation between the speech intelligibility and self-esteem of adolescents with hearing impairment (ρ=0.0391, p= -0.09). There was a significant association between mental health and type of school (z= - 6.34, „p'=0.000). There was a significant association between self-esteem and intensity of hearing loss (z = 6.94, „p‟=0.031).

Conclusion: Although almost half of the adolescents had abnormal mental health, there was no significant relationship between speech intelligibility and mental health and self-esteem of adolescents with hearing impairment. Most surprisingly, the majority of the adolescents had good self-esteem. Regular schooling and interaction with peers could be the contributing factor to higher self-esteem.