An Examination of the Link between Perceptions of Parental Typology and Behaviour in a Sample of Deaf/Hard of Hearing and Hearing Adolescents

The present study examines differences in the perceptions of parental typology and behaviour between deaf/hard of hearing (d/hh) and hearing adolescents. The participants were 131 adolescents, 101 hearing and 30 d/hh. The participating adolescents responded to the Greek version of the following questionnaires: (a) the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire-SDQ (Goodman, 1997; Bibou-Nakou, Stogiannidou, Kioseoglou & Papageorgiou, 2002) and (b) the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire-PSDQ (Antonopoulou & Tsitsas, 2011; Maridaki-Kassotaki, 2009; Robinson, Mandleco, Olsen & Hart, 2001). The results have shown that there are differences in perceptions of parental typology and behaviour between d/hh adolescents and their hearing peers. Specifically, it was found that hearing adolescents perceive their fathers as being more authoritarian and strict than d/hh adolescents do, and that d/hh adolescents have more difficulties in their peer relationships than their hearing counterparts. The results have revealed significant negative correlations between perceptions of authoritative parents and behavioural difficulties in both d/hh and hearing adolescents. Moreover, adolescents’ perceptions of their fathers’ and mothers’ authoritative parental typology were found to be a good predictor of adolescents’ prosocial behaviour, whereas perceptions of the strict father and mother were found to predict hyperactivity and conduct problems. The psycho-educational implications of the present findings are discussed.