OBSERVED SOCIAL-INTERACTION PATTERNS IN ADOLESCENTS WITH AND WITHOUT CRANIOFACIAL CONDITIONS

Objective:This study examined social interactions of adolescents in a natural environment (school lunch room) to determine if there were ide ntifiable differences in social behavior between children with and wit hout craniofacial conditions (CFC). Design:This was an observational s tudy comparing social interaction skills of children with CFC to peers without craniofacial conditions. Setting:The observations were conduc ted in the respective school lunch rooms of the adolescents with CFC. Participants: Clinical subjects were 13 adolescents (4 male) with vari ous craniofacial conditions (5 cleft lip and palate) and 12 (4 male) p eers without CFC present in the same lunch room. Main Outcome Measures : An unknown observer obtained 45 minutes of structured observational data on subject initiations, responses, nondirected comments, and exte nded conversations over two to three lunch room periods. Data was code d on the Epson HX-20 for type, frequency, and duration of social conta ct. Specific measures included: subject initiations and responses, pee r initiations and responses, conversations events, and nondirected com ments. Results: Statistically significant differences were found betwe en CFC and comparison subjects (CS) on each social interaction variabl e measured. CS initiated more contacts, received positive responses mo re frequently, and engaged in longer conversations than CFC subjects ( [F (1,24) = 14.1, p<.01; F (1,24) = 67.2, p<.001; F (1,24) = 5.50, p<. 05]. CS were approached by and responded appropriately to peers more o ften [F (1,24) = 28.1, p<.001; F (1,24) = 43.2, p<.001]. Subjects with CFC were more likely to produce nondirected comments (N = 7, x = 0, p <.01). Conclusions: A significant number of children with CFC behaved differently than their peers in a natural, daily occurring situation. They were often at the periphery of the group, observers rather than p articipants in conversation.