title: Social acceptance and facial behavior in children with oral clefts.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine and compare social acceptance, social behavior, and facial movements of children with and without oral clefts in an experimental setting.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two groups of children (with and without oral clefts) were videotaped in a structured social interaction with a peer confederate, when listening to emotional stories, and when told to pose specific facial expressions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-four children and adolescents ages 7 to 16(1)/(2) years with oral clefts were group matched for gender, grade, and socioeconomic status with 25 noncleft controls.
  
  
  METHODS
  Specific social and facial behaviors coded from videotapes; Harter Self-Perception Profile, Social Acceptance subscale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significant between-group differences were obtained. Children in the cleft group more often displayed "Tongue Out," "Eye Contact," "Mimicry," and "Initiates Conversation." For the cleft group, "Gaze Avoidance" was significantly negatively correlated with social acceptance scores. The groups were comparable in their ability to pose and spontaneously express facial emotion.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  When comparing children with and without oral clefts in an experimental setting, with a relatively small sample size, behavior analysis identified some significant differences in patterns of social behavior but not in the ability to express facial emotion. Results suggest that many children with oral clefts may have relatively typical social development. However, for those who do have social competence deficits, systematic behavioral observation of atypical social responses may help individualize social skills interventions.
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Psychology, Department of Behavioral Psychology, Kennedy Krieger Institute, 707 N. Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. Slifer@kennedykrieger.org
authors.forename: Keith J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Slifer
authors.forename: Valerie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pulbrook
authors.forename: Adrianna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Amari
authors.forename: Natalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Vona-Messersmith
authors.forename: Jeffrey F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Cohn
authors.forename: Zara
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ambadar
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Beck
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Piszczor
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002971:Cleft Lip / Q000523:psychology*; D002972:Cleft Palate / Q000523:psychology*; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors; D012919:Social Behavior; D014743:Videotape Recording