Theory-of-Mind Development in Young Deaf Children With Early Hearing Provisions

• Published in: Psychological science Vol. 32; no. 1; pp. 109 - 119
• Main Authors: Yu, Chi-Lin, Stanzione, Christopher M., Wellman, Henry M., Lederberg, Amy R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.01.2021; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Child; Child, Preschool; Cochlear Implants; Deafness; Hearing; Hearing Aids; Humans; Implants; Language; Native language acquisition; Older children; Parent-child relations; Persons With Hearing Impairments; Spoken language; theory of mind; deafness; hearing aids; cochlear implants
• ISSN: 0956-7976; 1467-9280
• DOI: 10.1177/0956797620960389

Deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children born to hearing parents have profound theory-of-mind (ToM) delays, yet little is known about how providing hearing assistance early in life, through cochlear implants and hearing aids, influences their ToM development. We thus addressed (a) whether young DHH children with early hearing provision developed ToM differently than older children did in previous research and (b) what ToM understandings characterize this understudied population. Findings from 84 three- to six-year-old DHH children primarily acquiring spoken language demonstrated that accumulated hearing experience influenced their ToM, as measured by a five-step ToM scale. Moreover, language abilities mediated this developmental relationship: Children with more advanced language abilities, because of more time using cochlear implants and hearing aids, had better ToM growth. These findings demonstrate the crucial relationships among hearing, language, and ToM for DHH children acquiring spoken language, thereby addressing theoretical and practical questions about ToM development.