Adverse childhood experiences among deaf and hard-of-hearing adults

Background

The adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) screening tool is a research measure that has not been frequently employed within the scientific literature addressing deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) populations.

Objective

To evaluate whether those who are DHH are more likely to cross-sectionally report a high-risk number of ACEs than those who are not DHH.

Methods

Data consisting of a weighted total of n = 24,797,770 US adults’ responses to the 2021 BRFSS survey were utilized for this study.

Results

The DHH-ACE association was effect modified by age group. In the 25-to-34 (aOR = 2.98; 95 % aOR CI: 1.81, 4.92; P < 0.0001), 35-to-44 (aOR = 3.17; 95 % aOR CI: 1.98, 5.08; P < 0.0001), 45-to-54 (aOR = 1.74; 95 % aOR CI: 1.23, 2.45; P = 0.0016), and 55-to-64-year-old (aOR = 1.85; 95 % aOR CI: 1.41, 2.42; P < 0.0001) age groups, those who are DHH were significantly more likely than their same-age hearing peers to report a high-risk number of ACEs. The findings for the 18–24 years and 65+ age groups were not statistically significant.

Conclusion

The results of this study highlight the need for trauma-informed care and improved early intervention and ACEs screenings for the DHH population.