Psychiatric disorder in deaf patients and its associated factor analysis

Psychiatric disorder in deaf patients and its associated factor analysis Objectives: This is an interdisciplinary study, exploring psychiatric disorders in deaf patients and its associated factors.

Methods: The psychological investigation and evaluation were conducted among 1,000 deaf patients (≥ 18 years old) by using the self-reporting inventory, Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90). All the results were compared with healthy Chinese norms, including factors of somatization, obsessive compulsiveness, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoia, psychoticism and other (sleep, diet), using rank sum test analysis, with the aid of SPSS 19.0.

Results: Mild and moderate levels of psychosis were respectively noted in 71.6% and 10.2%, with high scores for somatization, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety and other (sleep, diet), compared with healthy Chinese norms. The factor scores for interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety and other (sleep, diet) in the women’s group were higher than that in the men’s group. The factor scores for hostility and phobic anxiety in the younger group were higher than that in the older group. The factor scores for interpersonal sensitivity and anxiety in the long-course group were higher than that in the short-course group. The factor scores for paranoia in relation to educational attainment at the junior middle school level or below were higher than for high school or above.

Conclusions: Psychiatric disorders are prevalent in deaf patients, especially in relation to factors of interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety and other (sleep, diet). Female, junior, long-course patients and the less educated are in the high-risk group. Otologists should offer more spiritual understanding and comfort to deaf patients, shifting the medical model from the single biology to the physio-psychosocial approach.