Impact of Parent Openness to and Style of Communication on Emotion

The current study aims to examine parent to child openness to communication and communication style, and how these factors may be related to the emotion regulation (ER) skills of their child. The individuals being surveyed will be deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing parents of DHOH children ages 7-12 years old.

The first hypothesis is that communication styles such as the tendency to communicate in a way that is clear and understandable, as well as appropriately labeling one’s feelings to another, will be associated with stronger ER skills in the sample. Conversely, traits such as verbal aggression and interrogative-like communication will be associated with weaker ER skills.

The second hypothesis is that the former communication styles will be associated with increased openness to communication skills, therefore more effective ER skills.

The final hypothesis is that DHOH parents of DHOH children will present more openness to communication due to fewer challenges with communication during the early years of their child’s life, therefore acquiring more effective emotion regulation skills than children whose parents are not as open with communication.