Psychological study of cleft palate children with or without cleft lip by Kinetic Family Drawing

To clarify how cleft palate children with or without cleft lip perceive the ir family, we applied the Kinetic Family Drawing (KFD) technique to 60 clef t palate children (with or without cleft lip). The children were aged 7-9 y ears (in the 1-3 grade of elementary school) and attended the Department of Oral Surgery, Nagoya University Hospital, between 1990 and 1997, Controls consisted of 100 normal elementary school children of the same age. Major f indings were: (1) Compared with normal children, cleft lip and palate boys and cleft palate only girls drew their self-images significantly more often in region D (lower right) and in region A (upper left), respectively. (2) Cleft palate children with or without cleft lip felt anxiety and fear towar d their family, rarely viewing their homes as a restful place; this suggest ed insecurity. Uniquely dynamic relations were also suggested in their home s. (3) Cleft palate children with or without cleft lip often perceived thei r father or mother as persons easily acceptable in society. Rather remote p sychological distance between parents and cleft palate children with or wit hout cleft lip was suggested. (C) 2000 European Association for Cranio-Maxi llofacial Surgery.