title: Normal emotion regulation in adults with cleft lip and palate: an exploratory study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cleft lip and palate (CLP) represent the most common congenital malformations of the midfacial region. Although these patients show differences in their facial appearance, we hypothesize that CLP-affected individuals do not show an alteration in their emotion regulation abilities compared to unaffected individuals. This is because of the strong biological basis of facial emotion and expression that is inherent and receives little influence from external factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  The present study evaluated various aspects of emotion regulation in 25 adults with CLP and an equally sized control group of unaffected volunteers. The study was divided into three parts. First, we investigated emotion regulation strategies. Here, each participant was asked to complete the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) and Ambivalence over Emotional Expressiveness Questionnaire G 18 (AEQ-G18). Second, we examined the recognition of facially expressed basic emotions (FEEL test). Third, we evaluated the expression of an emotion induced by an odor sample.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Habitual emotion regulation, measured by ERQ and AEQ-G18, was not different between CLP and controls subjects for all of the sub-scales. Recognition of facially expressed basic emotions was also the same for both groups. Facial emotion encoding did not differ for both groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  To summarize, the findings suggest that individuals with an orofacial cleft show undisturbed emotion regulation and recognition. This may be explained by the strong biological basis of facial emotion recognition and regulation as well as by the healthy emotional resilience and social functioning of CLP patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University Hospital of Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel, Kiel, Germany. Electronic address: gassling@mkg.uni-kiel.de.
authors.forename: Volker
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gassling
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, University of Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kessler
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital of Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel, Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Marcus O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University Hospital of Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel, Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Anna-Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Detjen
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthodontics, University Hospital of Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel, Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Koos
authors.affiliation: Medical Psychology, Clinic for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: Kerstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Limbrecht-Ecklundt
authors.affiliation: Medical Psychology, Clinic for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: Harald C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Traue
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University Hospital of Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel, Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wiltfang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University Hospital of Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel, Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Wolf-Dieter
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Gerber
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000786:Anger; D002971:Cleft Lip / Q000523:psychology*; D002972:Cleft Palate / Q000523:psychology*; D000066498:Emotional Adjustment; D004644:Emotions; D005149:Facial Expression; D005152:Facial Muscles / Q000503:physiopathology; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D006240:Happiness; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009812:Odorants; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cleft lip and palate; Craniofacial malformation; Emotion regulation; Facial expression