A Study On The Relationship Between Depression,Psychological Capital,and Perceived Social Support Among Deaf Students From The Perspective Of School Management During Public Health Emergencies

The sudden public health emergency can have an impact on people’s mental health.Mental health issues can worsen during a public health emergency.During the COVID-19 pandemic,the use of social distancing and masks has made social interaction more difficult for the deaf and hard-of-hearing.This makes it more challenging for them to integrate into social activities.These may lead to anxiety,depression,and other mental health issues in the deaf and hard-of-hearing.As the COVID-19 pandemic gradually improves,the lives of the deaf and hard-of-hearing are gradually returning to normal.However,the impact of COVID-19 on mental health is profound and lasting.Therefore,it is necessary to continuously monitor the mental health of the deaf and hard-of-hearing.This study aims to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the psychological health of deaf students,explore whether psychological capital and perceived social support can serve as protective factors for their psychological health,and further examine the role of perceived social support in depression and psychological capital.The study intends to provide effective psychological health management strategies and theoretical guidance for special education schools in the post-pandemic era from the perspective of school management,in order to promote the improvement of the psychological health level of deaf students.The findings of the study are as follows:(1)During the COVID-19 pandemic,deaf students had higher levels of depression than hearing students;(2)Deaf students had better psychological capital during the pandemic,but they were lower than hearing students in terms of self-confidence,resilience,and overall psychological capital;(3)During the COVID-19 pandemic,deaf students had high levels of perceived social support,and most of them could feel support from family,friends,and school;(4)There was a significant positive correlation between psychological capital and perceived social support.The higher the level of psychological capital,the more perceived social support deaf students would receive.Psychological capital could significantly predict depression levels through perceived social support;(5)The group(deaf and hearing)moderated the direct path of psychological capital on depression.For deaf students,their depression did not decrease with the increase of psychological capital level.However,for hearing students,their depression level significantly decreased as their psychological capital level increased.Based on the above research findings,this study concludes that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant negative impact on the psychological well-being of deaf individuals.The level of depression among the deaf population has noticeably increased during the COVID-19 pandemic,and there are significant differences in depressive symptoms across different grade levels.The perception of social support among the deaf community can positively moderate the relationship between psychological capital and depression.These findings emphasize the importance of paying attention to the mental health of deaf individuals during both the outbreak and post-pandemic periods,and highlight the need for schools to develop more precise strategies for prevention and intervention of psychological issues among deaf students based on grade-level differences.Furthermore,the results of this study once again confirm the protective effects of perceived social support and psychological capital on individual mental health,suggesting that future interventions could focus on improving the level of perceived social support among the deaf population to reduce depression.