Social anxiety in Chinese adults with oral-facial clefts.
OBJECTIVE
This study examined social anxiety and measures of psychosocial adjustment in Chinese adults with oral-facial clefts, their unaffected siblings, and age-matched controls.


METHODS
This cross-sectional study utilized a matched case-control study design.


METHODS
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.


METHODS
Social Avoidance and Distress Scale, Fear of Negative Evaluation, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Interpersonal Support Evaluation List.


RESULTS
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.


CONCLUSIONS
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.
Berk
N W
NW
Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Center, University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine, Pennsylvania 15261, USA. nwb@cpc.pitt.edu
Cooper
M E
ME
Liu
Y E
YE
Marazita
M L
ML
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001007:Anxiety / Q000209:etiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002681:China; D002971:Cleft Lip / Q000523:psychology*; D002972:Cleft Palate / Q000523:psychology*; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005192:Family Health; D005239:Fear / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012649:Self Concept; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012919:Social Behavior; D012931:Social Environment; D012934:Social Isolation; D012944:Social Support; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology