Adverse childhood experiences, stress impact, and well-being in deaf and hard of hearing adolescents and adolescents with developmental language disorders in special secondary education

Many deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) adolescents and adolescents with developmental language disorders (DLD) face communication problems (CP) that may increase their vulnerability to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). ACEs have been shown to affect physical and mental health, and in particular, the accumulation of ACEs is associated with high stress levels, which can have detrimental effects on well-being. This study examined the prevalence of ACEs and their impact on stress and well-being in adolescents with CP (DHH, DLD) compared to a reference group.127 adolescents with CP (32 DHH adolescents and 95 adolescents with DLD) in special secondary education were compared to a reference group of 86 adolescents in mainstream secondary education. T-tests, chi-square tests, and proportion tests were used to compare all groups on ACEs, stress impact, and well-being. A mediation analysis tested the indirect effect of stress on the relationship between ACEs and well-being. Adolescents with CP reported significantly more (accumulations of) ACEs (p < .05, p.001), higher stress impact (p < .001), and lower well-being (p < .05) than the reference group. The origin of communication problems (DHH versus DLD) appeared to induce no differences between groups. Mediation analysis revealed that ACEs indirectly influenced adolescents' well-being through their effect on stress impact (p < .001). Adolescents with CP in special secondary education are highly vulnerable to encountering ACEs, which increases the risk of experiencing high stress levels that detract from their well-being. Therefore, structural screening of this group for stress impact and well-being should be mandatory.