Objective: This study examined social anxiety and measures of psychosocial
adjustment in Chinese adults with oral-facial clefts, their unaffected sibl
ings, and age-matched controls.
Design: This cross-sectional study utilized a matched case-control study de
sign.
Participants: 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 unaffe
cted controls, gender- and age-matched to the CL/CP subjects, were recruite
d from Shanghai work units including factories, universities, and other ins
titutions.
Outcome Measures: Social Avoidance and Distress Scale, Fear of Negative Eva
luation, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Interpersonal Support Evaluation List
.
Results: Affected adults reported significantly more social anxiety than un
affected siblings and controls, Affected adults also scored significantly l
ower 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.
Conclusions: Findings suggest that individuals with oral-facial clefts may
be more disadvantaged with respect to social affiliation and adaptation tha
n unaffected adults. Cross-cultural research is essential in enabling us to
determine whether similar trends exist across cultures.