title: Psychosocial well-being of parents of children with oral clefts.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Parents of children with oral clefts may be impacted psychosocially in several ways, but empirical evidence remains relatively sparse. The aim of this study was to identify predictors of psychosocial well-being of parents of affected children.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included a total sample of 287 parents (171 mothers and 116 fathers) of children with oral clefts. Parents completed validated psychosocial instruments to measure social avoidance and distress, fear of negative evaluation scale, self-esteem and interpersonal support. Regression analysis was used to evaluate how selected child, parent and household characteristics relate to psychosocial outcomes focusing on child's cleft type, sex and age, differences between mothers and fathers, marital status and household income.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fathers had higher self-esteem than mothers (P = 0.01) and lower concern of being negatively judged by others (P < 0.0001) but also had lower perception of having someone to talk to about their problems (P = 0.01). High household income was associated with greater self-esteem and perception of social support (<0.05). Parents of male affected children had greater perception of social support than parents of female affected children (P = 0.04). No significant differences in parental psychosocial status measures were found by cleft type. Similarly, there is little evidence of changes with child age, except for an increase in parental distress and decline in self-esteem during mid-adolescence (age 15-17 years).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results indicate that mothers and fathers of children with oral clefts may differ in their psychosocial adjustment and that mothers may overall experience more psychosocial problems than fathers. Also, parents from less wealthy households may be at greater risk. Parental psychosocial status should be considered in holistic family-based treatment approaches to reduce burden on affected families and improve their well-being.
authors: Department of Pediatrics, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.
authors: N
authors: N
authors: Nidey
authors: Department of Orthodontics-Dows Institute, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.
authors: L M
authors: LM
authors: Moreno Uribe
authors: Center for Craniofacial and Dental Genetics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.|Department of Oral Biology, School of Dental Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.|Department of Human Genetics, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.|Clinical and Translational Science Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.|Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors: M M
authors: MM
authors: Marazita
authors: National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA, USA.|Department of Health Management and Policy, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.|Department of Economics, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.|Department of Preventive and Community Dentistry, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.|Public Policy Center, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.
authors: G L
authors: GL
authors: Wehby
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002971:Cleft Lip / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D002972:Cleft Palate / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005220:Fathers / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D011788:Quality of Life; D012649:Self Concept; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012944:Social Support; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: cleft lip; cleft palate; oral clefts; parent health; parental well-being; psychosocial status