Sources of stress for mothers and fathers of deaf and hard of hearing infants.

Hearing mothers and fathers of 20 deaf or hard-of-hearing (D/HH) and 20 hearing 9-month-old infants completed the Parenting Stress Inventory (PSI) and a questionnaire tapping the Stress of Life Events (SLE). Their overall scores on the PSI were quite similar but subscale scores show that mothers were more likely than fathers to perceive their infants as 'distractible' and to report more negative spousal relationships. Mothers whose infants are D/HH report greater life stress compared to mothers of hearing infants, especially in relation to finances and to work. These results are discussed from the perspective of effective intervention.