Being Teased A Significant Predictor Of
Psychosocial Problems
May 7, 2007
In one of the first controlled studies to assess the opinions of parents of
children with cleft lip and palate regarding psychosocial adjustment, the
majority believed that their child was at some psychosocial disadvantage. The
study was published in the latest issue of Cleft Palate Craniofacial Journal.
In the study, parents of children with and without CLP were asked about their
children's psychosocial problems. Parents play a major role in determining the
nature and number of surgical and other interventions used to correct the
aesthetic and functional aspects of CLP. It is therefore important to understand
the factors that influence parents' perceptions of their child's psychosocial
well-being, said the study's researchers.
There was, however, some disagreement between children and parents over
happiness with facial appearance and the level of behavioral problems. Children
with CLP were more satisfied with their appearance than their parents believed
they were, while subjects without CLP were less satisfied with their appearance
than their parents believed they were.
A number of factors, such as visibility of a scar, happiness with appearance,
previous history of CLP in the family, and presence of CLP, affected various
aspects of psychosocial functioning. Overall, the main predictor of psychosocial
problems, regardless of the presence or absence of cleft lip and palate, was
having been teased. Teasing was found to be significantly more common for the
children with cleft lip and palate versus those without.
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