Prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stigma among high school students with deafness and its association with their quality of school life: A national study from Saudi Arabia.
Among Saudi high-schoolers with deafness, even mild increases in depression, anxiety or stigma measurably erode perceived quality of school life.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Madhesh et al. (2025) asked Saudi high-school students with deafness to fill out four short surveys. The surveys measured depression, anxiety, stigma, and how good they felt about school life.
The team then looked for links. They wanted to know if higher depression, anxiety, or stigma went hand-in-hand with lower school-life quality.
What they found
Even small rises in depression, anxiety, or stigma scores predicted a clear drop in how students rated their school life. Most kids did not have severe disorders, yet the pattern still held.
In short, mild mood problems or feeling judged hurt the school experience for these teens.
How this fits with other research
Madhesh (2024) had already warned that quality-of-life findings for deaf high-schoolers are "inconsistent and sometimes contradictory." The new 2025 survey adds one clear, consistent signal: mental-health strain and stigma erode school-life quality.
Kushalnagar et al. (2017) showed that deaf adults who had trouble talking with parents as kids were far more likely to be depressed later. The 2025 study widens the lens, showing that current school stigma—not just past family issues—also shapes mood and school happiness.
Agiovlasitis et al. (2025) asked Saudi university staff what helps deaf students thrive. Staff said interpreter shortages and few Deaf Role Models hurt self-determination. Together, the two papers trace a pipeline: high-school stigma lowers school-life quality, and later, scarce supports continue the struggle at university.
Why it matters
You now have evidence that even mild depression, anxiety, or stigma can chip away at a deaf student's school life. Screen early, pair mental-health check-ins with academic support, and bring in Deaf Role Models. Small mood shifts today may prevent bigger engagement drops tomorrow.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
OBJECTIVE: This study assessed the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stigma among high school children with deafness and investigated the relationship between these psychological disorders and quality of school life (QoSL) in children. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among high school students with deafness in Saudi Arabia, excluding students who were hard of hearing. This study employed established, validated, and culturally adapted assessment tools to evaluate participants' mental health, perceptions of stigma, and QoSL. RESULTS: In total, 269 students responded with a mean age of 17.9 ± 1.6 years. The mean score for depression was 4.68 ± 5.42, with only 13.7 % of respondents having at least moderate depression. Their mean score on the anxiety scale was 3.75 ± 4.81, with only 14.5 % of them having moderate to severe anxiety. The participants' mean score on the stigma scale was 6.62 ± 6.83, indicating a low level of stigma among the participants. The participants' mean QoSL score was 107.20 ± 13.39, demonstrating a good perception of the quality of their school life. Higher scores on depression, anxiety, and stigma scales were associated with significantly lower QoSL scores. CONCLUSION: This study stands out as one of the few to investigate the prevalence of psychological disorders and may be the first to investigate the association between psychological disorders and QoSL among high school students with deafness. Although this study yielded significant results, it highlights several gaps in the literature that require further investigation.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2025 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2024.104894