Satisfaction with Facial Appearance among Subjects Affected by a Cleft

Abstract

Objective This study examined the satisfaction of patients with clefting and their parents with facial appearance and how this alters with age. The relationship between satisfaction with appearance and psychosocial functioning was also examined. Design Prospective Setting Subjects were recruited for the study from nine hospital-based clinics. Patients, Participants All subjects had some type of cleft and were 10, 15, or 20 years of age. In all, 111 subjects with clefting and 62 parents were included. Main Outcome Measures Facial appearance was rated on a subjective ordinal scale of 1 to 7; psychosocial adjustment was measured with the Childhood Experience Questionnaire. Results Self-satisfaction with appearance among the 10- and 15-year-old subjects correlated with their psychosocial adjustment (p = .027). The 20-year-old subjects were, on average, significantly more satisfied with their appearance than the 10- and 15-year-olds (p = .009 and p = .012, respectively). However, some 20-year-old subjects remained greatly dissatisfied with aspects of their facial appearance. Subjects with visible anomalies were significantly more dissatisfied with their appearance than subjects with invisible anomalies (p = .035). The 15-year-old subjects were identified as being significantly more dissatisfied with appearance than their parents (p = .005). Conclusions Subjects affected by a cleft with visible Impairments are more dissatisfied with their facial appearance than are subjects with invisible impairments. Satisfaction with facial appearance among 10- and 15-year-old subjects with a cleft may be associated with their self-reported levels of psychosocial functioning. Measuring self-satisfaction with appearance may help to identify subjects at risk from adjustment problems.

Self-Reports of Psychosocial Functioning among Children and Young Adults with Cleft Lip and Palate

“…The presence of a visible scar resulted in greater unhappiness with facial appearance. This is similar to the findings of Broder et al (1994) and Thomas et al (1997), who reported that subjects with visible defects expressed greater dissatisfaction with their appearance than subjects with nonvisible defects did. Furthermore, when the current data were examined using multiple regression analysis, having a visible scar was a strong predictor of unhappiness with facial appearance.…”

Oral Health–Related Quality of Life in Children with Orofacial Clefts

“…Children with orofacial clefts also have a higher risk of developmental problems, including cognitive performance (Jocelyn et al, 1996;Jelliffe-Pawlowski et al, 2003). Treatment of orofacial clefts extends throughout adolescence, during which psychological adjustment has been reported to be a problem as well (Kapp-Simon et al, 1992;Thomas et al, 1997).…”

Quality of Life in Adolescents with Cleft Lip and Palate

“…The announcement of a facial malformation affecting their child is a major psychological test for parents. Other studies [10,[31][32][33] have found that parents' first relationships with their children are based on conscious and unconscious emotions, which essentially involve touch, sound of voice, gaze, and facial expression.…”