(PS7-D91) Care Quality in Assessment, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Social Anxiety in a Deaf/hard of Hearing Population

Nearly 11.5 million Americans face difficulty in conversations due to auditory barriers. This group experiences trauma or abuse at twice the rate of those who have a relatively typical hearing ability (US Census Bureau, 2022; Anderson et al., 2021). Additionally, communication barriers have been reported as the main factor in avoidance of care-seeking behaviors in Deaf/Hard of Hearing (HoH) individuals; reports detailing clinician misinterpretation of symptoms reported and the way in which they were communicated have led to misdiagnoses, improper care, and exacerbated negative views of mental health care for a population already more at-risk of lifetime trauma and emotional distress (Bone, 2018; Anglemyer & Crespi, 2018; Kavm et al., 2007). Current assessment measures designed by and for hearing individuals may not demonstrate equitable and consistent validity for their Deaf/HoH counterparts. Adapted materials were found to be more appropriate for college-educated Deaf/HoH clients; however, these materials have not been psychometrically standardized and normalized for a Deaf/HoH population specifically (Connolly et al., 2006). Work has been completed in treating co-morbid PTSD and SUDs in Deaf/HoH clients by developing an adapted cognitive-behavioral model in collaboration with Deaf professionals across multiple disciplines (Anderson et al., 2021). Results indicated greater success and client satisfaction than traditional treatment models. Implications of these findings suggest that mental health professionals may not fully understand the Deaf/HoH experience of mental health symptoms or how to provide assessment and cognitive-behavioral treatment equitable to that of their hearing clients. This poster will provide a systematic review of existing mental health framework for the Deaf/HoH experience of social anxiety symptoms, assessment, and treatment. Aims are to explore assessment measures, treatment modalities, theoretical constructs, and behaviors related to social anxiety as experienced by Deaf/HoH people to effectively postulate the need for further qualitative and quantitative research.