Abstract
The current research examines whether deaf and hard-of-hearing person's experience more social anxiety than hearing persons. A total of 109 participants (55 hearing and 54 deaf / hard-of-hearing) filled out a questionnaire that incorporated 2 anxiety scales (SAD & IAS) and 2 elements of the EPQ-R questionnaire (extroversion and neuroticism). The research employed a between-subjects unrelated questionnaire design. Results indicate deaf and hard-of-hearing persons experience more social anxiety (p <.01) and are more prone towards introversion than hearing persons (p <.01). The current research has accentuated the urgent need of an investigation of the causal factors of social anxiety among this population. From this basis the field of psychology can give practical assistance by means of interventions to decrease social anxiety levels.
