Journal of Communication Disorders, Deaf Studies & Hearing Aids
Open Access

Abstract

A Phenomenological Psychology Study of Parenting Deaf and Hard-of-hearing Children in China

Yulong LI*

The limited literature on mothers of deaf and hard-of-hearing children primarily highlights the psychological mood and attitudes of parents at the time of their children’s diagnosis, their accumulated psychological stress and anxiety following the diagnosis and the enjoyment of being parents of deaf and hard-of-hearing children. Albeit meaningful in their own right, most of these studies are not about the lived experience of mothers, particularly Chinese mothers, with deaf and hard-of-hearing children. This study aims to use a phenomenological psychological approach to explore the lived experience of mothers with deaf and hard-of-hearing children in China. Following Amedeo Giorgi’s five-step analysis, this study developed three situated structures and a general structure of the lived experience of three mothers parenting their deaf or hard-of-hearing children, revealing a largely similar trajectory from diagnosis to the rehabilitation of the children, which involves the lived experience of disbelief, surprise, anxiety, relief, confidence and better parenting.

Published Date: 2025-03-11; Received Date: 2024-03-03