The Relationship Between Deaf Adolescents’ Empathy and Subjective Well-Being in China During COVID-19 Pandemic: The Inconsistent Role of Peer Support and Teacher Support

Well-being is an important indicator of an individual's mental health and each individual plays an agency role in their own well-being attainment. Empathy, as a positive emotional quality at the individual level, facilitating the establishment and maintenance of individual interpersonal relationships according to the interpersonal theory of empathy. This study investigated the relationship between empathy, social support and subjective well-being in a total of 191 children and adolescents with deaf and hard of hearing in two boarding special education schools after experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic from Henan Province of China. The results indicated that social support mediates the role of empathy and subjective well-being. The mediating role of social support between empathy and subjective well-being was mainly manifested as peer support rather than teacher support. Fostering empathy and creating a positive social support network among adolescents with deaf and hard of hearing would be effective in enhancing their subjective well-being.