Social anxiety in Chinese adults with oral-facial clefts

• Published in: The Cleft palate-craniofacial journal Vol. 38; no. 2; p. 126
• Main Authors: Berk, N W, Cooper, M E, Liu, Y E, Marazita, M L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.03.2001
• Subjects: Adult; Analysis of Variance; Anxiety - etiology; Case-Control Studies; China; Cleft Lip - psychology; Cleft Palate - psychology; Cross-Cultural Comparison; Cross-Sectional Studies; Family Health; Fear - psychology; Female; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Male; Multivariate Analysis; Self Concept; Social Adjustment; Social Behavior; Social Environment; Social Isolation; Social Support; Statistics as Topic; Stress, Psychological - psychology; China
• ISSN: 1055-6656
• DOI: 10.1597/1545-1569(2001)038<0126:SAICAW>2.0.CO;2

This study examined social anxiety and measures of psychosocial adjustment in Chinese adults with oral-facial clefts, their unaffected siblings, and age-matched controls. This cross-sectional study utilized a matched case-control study design. Eighty-five adult cleft lip and cleft palate (CL/CP) subjects and 85 unaffected siblings (one adult sibling of each CL/CP subject) were recruited in Shanghai, China, from a larger CL/CP study. Eighty-five unaffected controls, gender- and age-matched to the CL/CP subjects, were recruited from Shanghai work units including factories, universities, and other institutions. Social Avoidance and Distress Scale, Fear of Negative Evaluation, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Interpersonal Support Evaluation List. Affected adults reported significantly more social anxiety than unaffected siblings and controls. Affected adults also scored significantly lower on measures of self-esteem and social support than unaffected siblings and controls. Unaffected siblings and controls were not found to differ on any of these measures. Findings suggest that individuals with oral-facial clefts may be more disadvantaged with respect to social affiliation and adaptation than unaffected adults. Cross-cultural research is essential in enabling us to determine whether similar trends exist across cultures.