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Self-concept and ego development, two intertwined aspects of self-indicating well-being and social-cognitive maturation, respectively, were examined in a representative sample of deaf adolescents of normal intelligence (N = 68), using translated and adapted versions of Harter's (1988, "Manual for the self-perception profile for adolescents". Denver, CO: University of Denver) multidimensional measure of self-concept and Loevinger's (1998, "Technical foundations for measuring ego development". Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum) measure of ego development. Compared to hearing norm groups, deaf adolescents showed lower levels of self-perceived social acceptance, close friendships and ego development and higher physical appearance. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses controlling for sociodemographic variables showed positive associations of global self-worth with support for signing during childhood and quality of parent-child communication and of ego development with attending a regular school. Cluster analysis identified three social competence profiles: uniformly low competence, uniformly high competence, and low social acceptance with high physical appearance. Cluster membership was associated with school type, ego development, and (past) neurological disorder. The results are discussed in reference to interventions aimed at the well-being of deaf youth.

In this study socio-demographic, deafness-related and diagnostic characteristics of hearing impaired children and adolescents referred to a national mental health service for deaf and hard of hearing children and adolescents were examined. Socio-demographic and diagnostic characteristics were compared to corresponding characteristics of hearing referred peers with identified mental health problems. The difference in characteristics between them and hearing referred peers with identified mental health problems was analyzed. A total of 389 deaf and hard of hearing and 3361 hearing children and adolescents was extracted from a database, all first referrals of patients of a center for child and adolescent psychiatry over a 15-year period. With deaf and hard of hearing patients we found higher rates of environmental stress, as indicated by conditions such as more one parent families (38.6% versus 25.8%), and more parents with a low educational level (44.2% versus 31.1%). Moreover, deaf and hard of hearing patients were older at their first referral (10.8 versus 9.4 years) and had higher rates of pervasive developmental disorders (23.7% versus 12.3%) and mental retardation (20.3% versus 3.9%). Within the target group of deaf and hard of hearing patients, most patients were deaf (68.9%; 22.3% was severely hard of hearing), relatively few (13.7%) had a non-syndromal hereditary hearing impairment, and more (21.3%) had a disabling physical health condition, especially those with a pervasive developmental disorder (42.6%). These findings illustrate both the complexity of the problems of deaf and hard of hearing children and adolescents referred to specialist mental health services, and the need for preventive interventions aimed at early recognition. (Contains 5 tables.)

Background: High rates of psychopathology were found amongst deaf adolescents, but little is known about the psychosocial risk factors. This study investigated whether (1) less severe deafness and/or acquired or otherwise complicated deafness, and (2) having mainly contacts with hearing people, each represent chronic stressful conditions that moderate the associations between self-esteem and emotional problems. In addition, the moderating effect of observed peer rejection on the association between social acceptance and behavioural problems was explored. Method: Deaf adolescents of normal intelligence (N = 68) completed the Self Perception Profile for Adolescents. Psychopathology was assessed using a semi-structured interview with adolescents and reports by parents, teachers and expert ratings. Data on moderator variables were collected from school records, parental and teachers' reports. Results: Emotional mental health problems were negatively associated with self-esteem and positively with peer rejection. The association between self-esteem and emotional problems was moderated by the deafness variable less severe deafness or acquired or otherwise complicated deafness. Behavioural mental health problems were positively associated with social acceptance and peer rejection but negatively with the amount of involvement with hearing people. Peer rejection moderated the association between social acceptance and behavioural problems. Conclusions: The findings emphasise the importance of considering self-concept dimensions, peer problems and deafness- and context-related characteristics when assessing and treating deaf adolescents.

A substantial percentage of children with anxiety disorders do not respond adequately to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Examination of parental factors related to treatment outcome could contribute to a further understanding of treatment outcome responses. This study investigated the predictive value of paternal and maternal emotional warmth, rejection, overprotection, anxiety, and depression for CBT outcome in clinic-referred anxious children (ages 8-12). Levels of maternal emotional warmth, paternal rejection and anxiety, and depressive symptoms predicted treatment success and failure. A higher level of maternal emotional warmth was associated with a less favorable treatment outcome. Higher levels of paternal rejection, anxiety, and depressive symptoms were consistently associated with a less favorable treatment outcome. (Contains 4 tables.)

Aims: To examine prevalence and correlates of psychopathology in deaf adolescents using a multi-method multi-informant approach. Methods: Data for the study came from checklist assessments by parents (Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL)) and teachers (Teacher's Report Form (TRF)) of 70 deaf adolescents aged 13 to 21 years, from semi-structured clinical interviews of the adolescents (Semi-structured Clinical Interview for Children and Adolescents (SCICA)), and from expert ratings of dossier data. Results: The percentages of Total Problems scores in the borderline clinical range in this population as found with the CBCL, TRF and SCICA are 28%, 32% and 49-63% respectively. Expert dossier ratings identified psychiatric caseness in 49% and DSM-classifications in 46% of the adolescents (primary classifications: emotional disorder 27%, behavioral disorder 11%, other disorder 7%). Cross-informant agreement between single ratings and expert dossier ratings was better than agreement between single ratings. Logistic regression analyses revealed that low IQ, a signing mode of communication and a history of three or more physical disorders were associated with psychiatric caseness. Conclusions: Findings suggest a high prevalence of psychopathology in the population studied and argue for a special focus on the early detection of significant emotional and behavioral problems as well as a multi-informant approach to the assessment of disorder in deaf children and adolescents. The correlational findings support the view that it is not deafness per se that contributes to psychiatric problems.

Background: The frequently reported decline in the "overall" frequency and intensity of fears during late childhood and adolescence may mask different developmental patterns for two broad subclasses of fears: fears concerning physical danger and fears concerning social evaluation. It was investigated if physical fears decrease between late childhood and mid-adolescence, while social-evaluative fears increase during this period. It was also studied if changes in both sets of fears are more strongly related to socio-cognitive maturity than to age, which itself is only a proxy measure of maturity. Methods: A non-clinical sample of 882 children and adolescents (ages 8-18) was recruited for study. Fears were assessed using the Ollendick Fear Survey Schedule for Children-Revised (FSSC-R). A Principal Components Analysis (PCA) was conducted to study the factor structure of the Failure and Criticism subscale of the FSSC-R. Level of development was assessed using the Sentence Completion Test for Youth (SCT-Y), a measure of socio-cognitive maturity that is based on Loevinger's model, and measure, of ego development. Results: The PCA of the Failure and Criticism subscale revealed three factors: Social Evaluation, Achievement Evaluation, and Punishment. As predicted, the significant decrease of overall fearfulness obscured two contradictory developmental patterns: (a) fears of physical danger and punishment decreased with age, whereas (b) fears of social and achievement evaluation increased with age. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that the age effect for social-evaluative fears was explained entirely on the basis of developmental differences in socio-cognitive maturity (controlling for verbal ability). In contrast, age was a better predictor of the decrease of physical and punishment fears (although socio-cognitive maturity still added to the predictive value of age). Conclusion: The expression of social evaluation fears during adolescence appears not atypical and might be a corollary of socio-cognitive maturation. At the same time, the natural presence of those fears during adolescence appears to constitute a vulnerability for developing a social anxiety disorder.

Results of past factor analytic studies of the Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index and Anxiety Sensitivity Index were used to formulate hypotheses about factor models of anxiety sensitivity. Using a nonclinical sample of 767 children and adolescents and confirmatory factor analysis, hypothesized models with 2, 3, and 4 lower order factors (facets) were tested. Goodness-of-fit criteria indicated that a model with 4 facets fits these data well. Support was found for factorial invariance of the 4 facets across age and gender, using nonclinical and clinical samples. Results support a hierarchical factor model in that there was a strong general factor, explaining 71% of the variance. Findings are discussed in the context of anxiety sensitivity theory and research with children and adolescents.