Adolescents with craniofacial anomalies: psychosocial adjustment as a function of self-concept.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate associations between self-concept and psychosocial adjustment among adolescents with craniofacial anomalies.


METHODS
Retrospective chart review.


METHODS
Reconstructive plastic surgery department in urban medical center.


METHODS
Forty-nine adolescents with congenital craniofacial anomalies, aged 14 to 18 years, and their parents.


METHODS
Psychosocial adjustment (internalizing problems and social competence), assessed by self-report and parent-report forms of the Child Behavior Checklist; appearance self-concept and global self-worth, assessed by the Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents.


RESULTS
Both appearance self-concept and global self-worth were associated with psychosocial adjustment; however, global self-worth remained associated with adjustment when the effects of appearance self-concept were controlled, whereas appearance self-concept was no longer associated with adjustment when global self-worth was controlled. Demographic variables (ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and adolescent gender) largely failed to moderate the associations between self-concept and adjustment.


CONCLUSIONS
Adolescent dissatisfaction with appearance is linked to psychosocial adjustment problems only when it is part of a negative overall view of the self.
Bilboul
Monica J
MJ
Psychology Department, St. John's University, Jamaica, New York 11439, USA.
Pope
Alice W
AW
Snyder
Heather T
HT
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D019465:Craniofacial Abnormalities / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012649:Self Concept; D012737:Sex Factors; D012917:Social Adjustment