Low empathy in deaf and hard of hearing (pre)adolescents compared to normal hearing controls

Anouk P Netten; Carolien Rieffe; Stephanie C P M Theunissen; Wim Soede; Evelien Dirks; Jeroen J Briaire; Johan H M Frijns

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0124102

Low empathy in deaf and hard of hearing (pre)adolescents compared to normal hearing controls

PLoS One. 2015 Apr 23;10(4):e0124102. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0124102. eCollection 2015.

Authors

Anouk P Netten¹, Carolien Rieffe², Stephanie C P M Theunissen¹, Wim Soede¹, Evelien Dirks³, Jeroen J Briaire¹, Johan H M Frijns⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
² Department of Developmental Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands; Dutch Foundation for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Child, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
³ Dutch Foundation for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Child, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
⁴ Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands.

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the level of empathy in deaf and hard of hearing (pre)adolescents compared to normal hearing controls and to define the influence of language and various hearing loss characteristics on the development of empathy.

Methods: The study group (mean age 11.9 years) consisted of 122 deaf and hard of hearing children (52 children with cochlear implants and 70 children with conventional hearing aids) and 162 normal hearing children. The two groups were compared using self-reports, a parent-report and observation tasks to rate the children's level of empathy, their attendance to others' emotions, emotion recognition, and supportive behavior.

Results: Deaf and hard of hearing children reported lower levels of cognitive empathy and prosocial motivation than normal hearing children, regardless of their type of hearing device. The level of emotion recognition was equal in both groups. During observations, deaf and hard of hearing children showed more attention to the emotion evoking events but less supportive behavior compared to their normal hearing peers. Deaf and hard of hearing children attending mainstream education or using oral language show higher levels of cognitive empathy and prosocial motivation than deaf and hard of hearing children who use sign (supported) language or attend special education. However, they are still outperformed by normal hearing children.

Conclusions: Deaf and hard of hearing children, especially those in special education, show lower levels of empathy than normal hearing children, which can have consequences for initiating and maintaining relationships.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Behavior
Child
Cochlear Implantation
Deafness / psychology*
Deafness / surgery
Empathy*
Female
Humans
Male
Parents / psychology
Persons With Hearing Impairments / psychology*
Self Report
Sign Language

Grants and funding

This research was supported by the Innovational Research Incentives Scheme (a VIDI grant) by The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), no. 452-07-004 to CR. AN is supported by the Stichting Het Heinsius-Houbolt Fonds, the Netherlands. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.