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In Sweden, as in many other industrialised countries, the official stance is an inclusive school promotes an integrated society and creates supportive local communities. Lack of attention to mental well-being of adolescents may lead to mental ill-health that may endure for the rest of an individual´s life. Many deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) adolescents in mainstream schools become depresses, have more illness and often have poorer health and develop a negative self-image. This self reported survey study, which used a cross-sectional, quantitative approach, is one of the first studies to address these issues. The sample for this study consisted of 5798 adolescents (235 DHH, 221 DHH with additional disabilites, 5342 hearing) attending compulsory and upper-secondary schools in Sweden. The results showed that adolescents without DHH have higher well-being, fewer somatic problems and lower mental ill-health than adolescents with DHH.

Studies on hard of hearing (HH) individuals have focused mostly on children´s experinces in school. Howerver, their lives as young adults have not received much attention. The present study therefore examined HH young adults´experiences of social identity and group membership. Semi-structured interviews were counducted with 16 individuals (10 males, 6 females) with servere-to-profound hearing loss. They were from diverse cultural backgrounds. A qualitative content analysis was performed with a manifest analysis. Two categories emerged: belonging to a social enviroment and engaging in important communication. The results indicate that the HH individuals, either deliberately or unconsciously, chose to be with other HH individuals because of their longing for group membership and desire to avoid being misunderstood. The participants longed for inclusion, acceptance, and opportunities to create an inclusive social environment and to communicate with others.

Globally, there is limited research on how deaf and hard of hearing adults experience higher education and work. The purpose of the present study is to examine hard of hearing (HH) adults’ experiences of social interactions and social relationships in higher education, the workplace and leisure time. Data were obtained from semistructured interviews with 16 individuals (aged 24–31 years) from diverse cultural backgrounds (10 males and 6 females) with severe-to-profound hearing loss. Participants were selected based on previous expressed interest in participating in further studies after having been involved in an earlier study. The interviews were subjected to a qualitative thematic data analysis. According to the results, people with a hearing loss experience communication barrier in higher education, at work and in leisure time. These communication barriers lead to difficulties achieving social inclusion, and in some circumstances to social exclusion. Assistive technology (AT) and information and communication technologies (ICT) were important facilitators of moving from social exclusion towards social inclusion.

This study examines the question of which school environment - special or mainstream school - is more favourable for deaf and hard-of-hearing students in Sweden, when it comes to their well-being, and their social and academic inclusion. The aim is threefold: first to compare the well-being of adolescents who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, who are deaf or hard-of-hearing and have additional disabilities, and who have no disabilities; second to compare the adolescents from the two deaf and hard-of-hearing groups and their experiences of inclusion and exclusion in school; and third to ascertain if any gender differences exist between the two groups of deaf and hard-of-hearing students concerning their experiences of inclusion and exclusion. A total of 7865 adolescents (13-18 years of age) answered a total survey about the life and health of young people in a county in Sweden. The results show that both boys and girls in the hard-of-hearing groups rated their well-being lower and were less satisfied with their lives than pupils without disabilities. They also show that the hard-of-hearing boys and girls attending special school were more satisfied with their lives and to a greater extent felt included both socially and academically than students in mainstream school.