SOCIAL EXPERIENCES AND MOTHERS’ ATTITUDES PREDICT ADJUSTMENT FOR CLEFT PALATE
SOCIAL EXPERIENCES AND MOTHERS’ ATTITUDES PREDICT ADJUSTMENT FOR CLEFT PALATE Social experiences can have profound effect on the development of adolescents who have oral cleft, but overall adjustment for these young people is also influenced considerably by family members and,
SOCIAL EXPERIENCES AND MOTHERS’ ATTITUDES PREDICT ADJUSTMENT FOR CLEFT PALATE
Social experiences can have profound effect on the development of adolescents who have oral cleft, but overall adjustment for these young people is also influenced considerably by family members and, in particular, by their mothers. A survey conducted of adolescents in the United Kingdom between age 11 and age 16 who had cleft lip and/or palate, and their mothers sought to discover what factors might predict adjustment characteristics among adolescents. The survey also aimed to identify whether there were relationships between the adjustments of members of the same family.
Findings of the survey, led by Zoe E Berger, B.Sc. Hons., D.Clin.Psych, a clinical psychologist in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychological Medicine at the University College Hospital in London, are published in Cleft Palate Craniofacial Journal. The results ranked social experiences as the dominant predictor of adjustment among adolescents in the sample group, and revealed a link between negative experiences and poorer adjustment among the adolescents. The survey also found the strongest forecaster of psychosocial functioning among the adolescents was difficulty being understood by others when speaking, and satisfaction with their own looks. Being male and using a coping strategy of social withdrawal were also two variables that predicted levels of adjustment, although these proved less significant than social experiences, and issues associated with physical appearance and speech.
The survey also found a relationship between mothers who adjusted poorly to their adolescent’s condition and poor adjustment in the adolescents themselves. Another finding indicated the psychosocial well being of mothers could be gauged by how they used coping skills such as self-blame, venting, and acceptance. The survey also revealed that, among parents, characteristics that predicted levels of adjustment include stressful life events and problems the parents perceived with their child’s sense of hearing.
Source: Cleft Palate Craniofacial Journal, January 2011; http://www.cpcjournal.org/doi/full/10.1597/08-094. Accessed April 13, 2011.
