Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2017 Jun;52(6):761-776.
doi: 10.1007/s00127-017-1351-7. Epub 2017 Feb 16.

Language deprivation syndrome: a possible neurodevelopmental disorder with sociocultural origins

Wyatte C Hall  1   2 , Leonard L Levin  3 , Melissa L Anderson  4
Affiliations
Review

Language deprivation syndrome: a possible neurodevelopmental disorder with sociocultural origins

Wyatte C Hall et al. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2017 Jun.

Abstract

Purpose: There is a need to better understand the epidemiological relationship between language development and psychiatric symptomatology. Language development can be particularly impacted by social factors-as seen in the developmental choices made for deaf children, which can create language deprivation. A possible mental health syndrome may be present in deaf patients with severe language deprivation.

Methods: Electronic databases were searched to identify publications focusing on language development and mental health in the deaf population. Screening of relevant publications narrowed the search results to 35 publications.

Results: Although there is very limited empirical evidence, there appears to be suggestions of a mental health syndrome by clinicians working with deaf patients. Possible features include language dysfluency, fund of knowledge deficits, and disruptions in thinking, mood, and/or behavior.

Conclusion: The clinical specialty of deaf mental health appears to be struggling with a clinically observed phenomenon that has yet to be empirically investigated and defined within the DSM. Descriptions of patients within the clinical setting suggest a language deprivation syndrome. Language development experiences have an epidemiological relationship with psychiatric outcomes in deaf people. This requires more empirical attention and has implications for other populations with behavioral health disparities as well.

Keywords: Behavioral health; Hearing loss; Language deprivation; Sign language; Social psychiatry.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest statement: On behalf of all the authors, the corresponding author states there is no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Search strings by database.
Figure 1
Figure 1
Search strings by database.
Figure 2
Figure 2
PRISMA Flow Diagram
Figure 3
Figure 3
Glickman’s proposed criteria of “language deprivation with deficiencies in behavioral, emotional, and social adjustment.”
Figure 3
Figure 3
Glickman’s proposed criteria of “language deprivation with deficiencies in behavioral, emotional, and social adjustment.”
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Draine J, Salzer MS, Culhane DP, Hadley TR. Role of social disadvantage in crime, joblessness, and homelessness among persons with serious mental illness. Psychiatric Services. 2002;53(5):565–573. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.53.5.565. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Meyer IH. Prejudice, social stress, and mental health in lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations: Conceptual issues and research evidence. Psychological Bulletin. 2003;129(5):674–697. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.129.5.674. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kelly CM, Jorm AF, Wright A. Improving mental health literacy as a strategy to facilitate early intervention for mental disorders. The Medical Journal of Australia. 2007;187(7 Suppl):S26–30. - PubMed
    1. Mazza JR, Boivin M, Tremblay RE, Michel G, Salla J, Lambert J, Zunzunegui MV, Cote SM. Poverty and behavior problems trajectories from 1.5 to 8 years of age: Is the gap widening between poor and non-poor children? Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2016 doi: 10.1007/s00127-016-1252-1. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Mensah FK, Kiernan KE. Parents' mental health and children's cognitive and social development: families in England in the Millennium Cohort Study. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2010;45(11):1023–1035. doi: 10.1007/s00127-009-0137-y. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources