# Predicting psychosocial adjustment in pediatric cochlear implant users

> **NIH NIH R01** · INDIANA UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS · 2024 · $788,820

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
The cascading effects of prelingual hearing loss and subsequent cochlear implantation on the development of
children’s psychosocial (emotional, behavioral, and social) adjustment are not fully understood. The specific
objective of this research project is to identify how stress appraisal and coping responses, supported by
neurocognitive (language and executive functioning) skills, predict psychosocial risk or resilience in prelingually
deaf, early-implanted cochlear implant (CI) users. We hypothesize that prelingual hearing loss exposes
children to a unique and multifaceted set of stressors, which taxes and depletes limited-capacity resources
such as language and executive functioning skills, leading to maladaptive stress appraisal and coping
responses, and individual differences in psychosocial adjustment. Two specific aims are proposed to
accomplish our research objective and provide novel theoretical and clinical contributions to the field of
cognitive hearing science: In Specific Aim 1, a cross-sectional design will be used to determine the relationship
between children’s hearing history (CI vs. NH) and individual level stress appraisal/coping responses and the
extent to which that relationship is mediated by neurocognitive (language and EF) skills. In Specific Aim 2, a
prospective longitudinal design will be used to predict variability in psychosocial outcomes in CI users by
identifying the extent to which stress appraisal/coping responses mediate the longitudinal relationship between
neurocognitive (language and EF) skills and psychosocial adjustment. This will be the first research project to
systematically examine the effects of pediatric hearing loss and neurocognitive (language and executive
functioning) skills on individual-level stress appraisal, coping responses, and downstream psychosocial
adjustment in pediatric CI users. Findings from the proposed project offer both theoretical and clinical
implications for the early identification, diagnosis, and treatment of at-risk psychosocial outcomes in pediatric
CI users by providing a developmental understanding of how underlying mechanisms of risk and resilience are
associated with variability in psychosocial adjustment.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10823976
- **Project number:** 1R01DC021339-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** INDIANA UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS
- **Principal Investigator:** Irina Castellanos
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $788,820
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-02-01 → 2025-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10823976

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10823976, Predicting psychosocial adjustment in pediatric cochlear implant users (1R01DC021339-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10823976. Licensed CC0.

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