ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this prospective, cross-sectional study were to compare self-perception and communication-success ratings of adolescents with cochlear implant (AWCI) and their caregivers (C-AWCI) and to explore associations with age at CI, implant age, and chronological age. METHOD: Fourteen CI centers across India participated. The Think About it Quiz (TAIQ), Self Assessment of Communication-Adolescent (SAC-A), and Significant Other Assessment of Communication-Adolescent (SOAC-A) were translated into five languages. Data were collected from 173 AWCI aged 10;0-19;6 years and an associated caregiver for each participant. RESULTS: On the TAIQ, self-ratings by AWCI were significantly lower than the ratings by C-AWCI. Peer acceptance correlated with athletic competence for both groups. For the SAC-A versus SOAC-A, there was no significant difference between AWCI and C-AWCI ratings. Except for a negative correlation between peer-acceptance and chronological age for caregiver ratings, no other associations were found between any other ratings and age at CI, implant age, and chronological age. CONCLUSIONS: Caregiver judgments of their adolescents with CI were not in equal agreement with self-ratings by the adolescents across various aspects of performance. Caregivers appeared to underestimate the self-perception issues faced by adolescents with CI but had excellent agreement with their adolescents' self-rating of communication success. The inclusion of activities to improve children's participation in sports could possibly improve peer acceptance.
