Self-reported social, speech, and facial concerns and personality adjustment of adolescents with cleft lip and palate.

This study examined the relationships among self-perceived social adjustment, concerns regarding facial disfigurement and defective speech, and objective personality assessment of 30 adolescents with cleft lip and palate. The results suggest that while cleft group scores indicate good adjustment, a significant number of adolescents with cleft have self-perceived social adjustment problems related to concerns with facial appearance. Social introversion appears to be related more to facial concerns than speech concerns during adolescence.