Parenting stress in parents of children with cochlear implants: relationships among parent stress, child language, and unilateral versus bilateral implants.

Little attention has been focused on stress levels of parents of children with cochlear implants (CIs). This study examined the stress experience of 70 parents of children with CIs by comparing stress levels in this group of parents to those in parents of children without disabilities, identifying primary stressors, examining the relationship between parent stress and child language, and comparing stress in parents of children with bilateral and unilateral CIs. Parents completed a parent stress questionnaire, and the receptive vocabulary and language abilities of the children were evaluated.