Social Representations of Deafness and Psychological Suffering in Parents of Deaf Children

Abstract

The core problematic of the present study is the relationship between the deaf child and the hearing parents. The objectives of the study are to describe the social representations of deafness and psychological suffering among parents of deaf children, and to establish the link between their suffering and these social representations. It is a cross-sectional study conducted from August 15, 2011 to January 16, 2012 in the ENT department (Oto-Rhino Laryngology) of the CHU (Teaching hospital) Sylvanus Olympio and at the school for the deaf EPHATA in Lomé. A sample of 127 participants was obtained using the all-comers method. The data were collected using the semi-structured interview. The results show that the psychological suffering of parents of deaf children is presented on three spheres: the painful experience of communication between the hearing parents and the deaf child, whose concern about the deprivation of their child's oral communication is more noted at 74.80%.; the parents' experience of the child's disability is more marked by anxiety about the child's future (74.02%) and relationship difficulties (44.88% of the parents), with 44.88% of parents saying that they are or think they are being made fun of by the people around them.