The relationship between child social-emotional competence, child communication competence, and parental stress in a sample of children who are deaf or hard of hearing

This study examined the relationship between child social-emotional competence, child communication competence, and parental stress level in a sample of parents of children 5-12 who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH). A cross-section of parents (N = 53) responded to an online survey. Two main study hypotheses were supported: first, levels of parental stress were negatively correlated with levels of children’s social-emotional competence; second, levels of child communication competence were negatively correlated with the level of parental stress; and child communication competence was positively correlated with child social-emotional competence. Girls were rated as having higher social-emotional competence than boys, F (1, 51) = 7.83, p < .01, ηp² = .13. Parent stress level was not found to be a statistically significant moderator (did not impact the strength of the relationship) between child communication competence and child social-emotional competence ΔR² = .002, ΔF (6, 52) = .151, ns. Child communication competence was shown to account for 12.04% of the variance in child social-emotional competence and parent stress level was shown to account for 17.4% of the variance in child social-emotional competence in the second regression model of the moderation analysis ΔR² = .265, ΔF (5, 47) = 12.30, p < .001, f² = .78. There was a statistically significant indirect effect of parental stress in two mediation models where parent stress level was a possible mediator between child communication competence and child social-emotional competence. The mediation models controlled for (a) the effects of gender and socioeconomic status (B = .50; CI = .15 to 1.12), and (b) functional hearing status and socioeconomic status (B = .44; CI = .11 to 1.00). This study builds on existing literature suggesting that parental stress plays a vital role in child social-emotional development and seeks to understand factors contributing to this relationship in the context of childhood disability.Education, Faculty ofEducational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department ofGraduat