Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Depression in Iranian Adolescents with and Without Hearing Loss (HL) in Previous and During the Outbreak of the COVID-19
Abstract Background: Due to the unavailability of information and resources about COVID-19 in people with Hearing Loss (HL), especially deaf people, the psychological problems, such as PTSD and depression are probably raised in people with hearing loss (HL) during the outbreak of COVID-19. This study was conducted to compare post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression in Iranian adolescents with and without HL in previous and during the outbreak of COVID-19. Methods: The statistical sample was 112 adolescents half (56) of whom was with HL, while another half (56) was without HL. The two groups were also homogenized in terms of age, gender, and education. Data were gathered using the Child PTSD Symptom Scale for DSM-5 (CPSS-5) and Children's Depression Inventory Short version (CDI: S). The data obtained were analyzed using two-way MANOVA. Results: Results showed that 46.43% and 41.04% of with-HL adolescents during the outbreak of COVID-19, and 17.87% and 25.00% of them in previous the outbreak of COVID-19 had symptoms of PTSD and depression, respectively. Results indicated that the mean score difference between PTSD and depression during and in previous the outbreak of COVID-19 [(during)-(previous)] was higher in adolescents with HL than the control group. conclusion: We concluded that psychological and medical interventions must be beneficial to decrease symptoms of PTSD and depression in adolescents (especially in deaf and hard-of-hearing adolescents) during the outbreak of COVID-19.