[Psychosocial adaptation in children and adolescents with craniofacial malformations].

To determine children's perception of their own psychosocial functioning, to compare it with their parents' perception, and determine the type and rate of their psychopathological syndromes and family functioning, and to investigate correlation among these data. Nineteen children with craniofacial deformities and their parents responded to the Columbia Impairment Scale, the Child Behavior Checklist and the McMaster General Functioning Subscale. Psychosocial impairment is a trend in children with craniofacial deformities. There is a correlation between children's and parents' perception of the patient's psychosocial adaptation, global psychopathology and externalizing and aggressive syndromes. A less strong correlation was found with internalizing, somatization and attention deficit syndromes, and with family functioning. Craniofacial deformities in childhood pose special risks for psychosocial adjustment due to type of illness and environmental and family factors.