The effect of an online music program on children with cochlear implants’ vocabulary, and maternal stress, and the role of the acoustic environment

Objectives We had two sets of objectives. First, to assess the effects of an online music program on the expressive vocabulary of children with cochlear implants (CIs) and on maternal stress. Second, to explore associations between children’s vocabulary, maternal stress, and the quality of children’s acoustic environment, measured as daily exposure to speech in quiet. Methods Sixteen children with CIs (M = 17.63 months, SD = 6.39) and their mothers participated weekly in a 12-week online music program (CI-T), and 16 children with CIs (M = 18.46 months, SD = 6.02) and their mothers served as controls (CI-C). The program started three months after CI activation. Both groups were assessed at three (T1), six (T2), and twelve (T3) months after CI activation. We collected measures of children’s vocabulary (using the MacArthur-Bates Cognitive Development Inventories; MB-CDI), maternal stress (using the Parenting Stress Index; PSI), and children’s daily exposure to speech in quiet (from the datalogging of children’s devices). Friedman non-parametric tests examined within-group differences in children’s vocabulary and in mothers’ stress across time points. Spearman correlations (both groups combined) explored associations between changes in vocabulary, maternal stress, and the datalogging at T1, T2, and T3. Results The CI-T group showed significant vocabulary gains between T1 and T2, and between T2 and T3 [χ²(2) = 20.5, p < .001]. The CI-C group significantly improved only between T2 and T3 [χ²(2) = 19.60, p < .001]. Maternal stress decreased significantly in the CI-T group between T1 and T2 [χ²(2) = 8.22, p = .02], but not in the CI-C group (all ps > .05). In both groups, we found significant associations between increases in children’s expressive vocabulary and maternal stress (e.g. between children’s vocabulary increases between T1 and T2, and mothers’ scores on the ‘Parent–Child Dysfunctional Interaction’ subscale at T1; r = −.40, p = .03); between increases in children’s expressive vocabulary and daily exposure to speech in quiet (e.g. between children’s vocabulary increases between T1 and T2 and the datalogging ‘Speech’ scene at T2; r = .47, p = .03); and between maternal stress and daily exposure to speech in quiet (e.g. between mothers’ scores on the ‘Parent Distress’ subscale at T2 and the datalogging ‘Speech’ scene at T2; r = −.56, p = .01). Conclusions Online music-based interventions could benefit children with CIs and their mothers, alongside longer exposure to speech in quiet.