The Psychosocial Functioning of Young Adults Born with Cleft Lip or Palate

Abstract

A follow-up study of 96 young adults born with a cleft lip and/or cleft palate was conducted to determine their present psychosocial adjustment and to evaluate the services offered to them. Medical histories were obtained from hospital charts. Telephone interviews focusing on educational achievement, work performance, and social integration showed that 10 to 33%, depending on the criteria used, experienced psychosocial maladjustment. There was a high rate of persistent dissatisfaction with appearance, hearing, speech, teeth, and social life. An analysis of the services offered to these young adults, in the light of their adjustment status and expressed needs, prompts the recommenda tion that counseling or other social support might be offered routinely during childhood and, of equal importance, during adolescence when further medi cal, surgical, and dental treatment may also be required.