[Anxiety and depression in deaf and hard-of-hearing adults].

The main purpose of this study was to determine the differences between the anxiety and depression degree in individuals with severe hearing impairments and deaf people in relation to sex and marital status. The sample consisted of 54 subjects, 35 males and 19 females, aged from 18-61 years, with hearing loss greater than 60 dB. We used "SCL-90-R" (Symptom Checklist-90-Revised), to assess the level of anxiety and depression. For the examination of marital stress we used "Stockholm Marital Stress Scale". The results showed that deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals demonstrated certain anxiety and depression levels which correlated significantly with marital status, marital stress, and communication problems. The married deaf subjects showed higher anxiety degree than single one. We determined the statistically significant differences for the anxiety level (p < .03861), age (p < .0006), and communication problems (p < .033) between the married and single deaf people. The females exhibited higher anxiety and depression levels than males, but these differences were not statistically significant. For the prevention of psychological problems in deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals it is necessary to pay attention to their communication problems which are a condition for adequate society integration.