Self Esteem, Coping Styles, and Quality of Life in Polish Adolescents and Young Adults with Unilateral Cleft Lip and Palate
Objectives To evaluate self esteem, coping styles, and health related quality of life and their relationships in Polish adolescents and young adults with unilateral complete cleft lip and palate and related sex differences. Design and Participants Self report questionnaires measuring self esteem (Multidimensional Self Esteem Inventory) coping styles (Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations) and health related quality of life (WHOQOL BREF) were completed by 48 participants with cleft lip and palate (age, 16 to 23 years; 31 males, 17 females) and 48 controls without cleft lip and palate (age, 16 to 23 years; 28 males, 20 females) matched for age, place of residence, and socioeconomic status. Results Regarding self esteem, individuals with cleft lip and palate scored higher on body functioning (P .01) and defensive self enhancement (P .05) Self control showed an interaction effect: Females with cleft lip and palate scored higher than controls, but males did not differ between groups (P .05) Males with cleft lip and palate scored lower than controls in personal power but higher in body functioning (P .05) females showed no differences between groups. The groups did not differ with regard to coping styles or quality of life, but several correlations were found between self esteem and coping styles, and quality of life (P .01) Conclusions Late adolescents and young adults with and without cleft lip and palate differed little in terms of psychological adjustment measures. The higher scores in defensive self enhancement of individuals with cleft lip and palate suggest the need for instruments measuring social approval in psychosocial adjustment research involving this group.
The Cleft palate craniofacial journal official publication of the American Cleft Palate Craniofacial Association