Presenting a Model of Challenges of Raising Preschool Children with Hearing Loss Based on Grounded Theory: A Qualitative Study

This study aimed to present a model of challenges in raising preschool children with hearing loss from the perspective of mothers and professionals based on the grounded theory.

The sample of this study was 15 mothers of children with hearing loss aged 4 to 6 years from the association of parents of children with hearing loss in Tehran and 5 professionals in the field of deaf and hard of hearing children who were selected in 2021 using purposive sampling method. The challenges of raising children with hearing loss were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews to achieve theoretical saturation and analyzed by theoretical coding (open, axial and selective coding).

Based on the results of the research, open codes around 290 concepts, central codes including 51 concepts and selective codes in fourteen concepts including systemic and religious challenges, couple challenges, relationship challenges, various topics, unfavorable parent-child, thoughts and feelings. Experiences of blame, anxiety about the future, isolationism, emotional and behavioral problems, emotional response to the child, problems in communication skills and independence, child neglect, transformation and constructiveness, growing parenting skills were identified and discovered.

Parents face special challenges in raising their children with hearing loss, so it is important to pay special attention to the challenges ahead in raising a child with hearing loss.