Beyond the face: An interdisciplinary evaluation of satisfaction with appearance in young people with orofacial clefts
Jakob Sajovic,
Gorazd Drevenšek,
Alja Plut,
Andreja Eberlinc,
Manca Kosmač Vrabec,
Anina Setnikar Lesjak,
Polona Selič Zupančič,
Martina Drevenšek
Affiliations
Jakob Sajovic
Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; Department of Orthodontics, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; Corresponding author
Gorazd Drevenšek
Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Alja Plut
Department of Orthodontics, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Andreja Eberlinc
Department of Maxillofacial and Oral Surgery, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Manca Kosmač Vrabec
Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies, University of Primorska, 6000 Koper, Slovenia
Anina Setnikar Lesjak
Department of Orthodontics, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Polona Selič Zupančič
Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; Faculty of Medicine, University of Maribor, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia
Martina Drevenšek
Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; Department of Orthodontics, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Summary: Orofacial clefts are the most common congenital anomaly of the face, and they significantly affect appearance. The combined effects of demographics, psychology, neurophysiology, and cleft characteristics to explain satisfaction with appearance in young people with a cleft have not yet been comprehensively studied in an interdisciplinary manner. We found that interpersonal difficulties, age, and conscientiousness were significant explanatory factors for satisfaction with appearance (tinterpersonal difficulties = −3.022, p = 0.006; tage = −3.563, p = 0.016; tconscientiousness = 4.161, p = 0.003); the model explained 50% of variance in satisfaction with appearance (R2Adjusted = 0.504, Fvs. constant = 4.05, p = 0.00117). Furthermore, frontal alpha asymmetry was complexly intertwined with other variables, affecting the overall accuracy of the model, but explaining only 10.5% of variance in satisfaction with appearance when used as a factor alone. The results show that an interdisciplinary approach can substantially expand our understanding of the factors influencing self-perception in young people with orofacial clefts.
