Assessment of Multiple Dimensions of Psychological Well-Being in Swiss Youth Born with a Unilateral Cleft Lip and Palate

Objective: This study examines the psychological well-being of Swiss youths born with a unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP), in a multi-dimensional and clinical perspective. Design: Retrospective cross-sectional study. Setting: Self-report questionnaires completed by youths born with UCLP, followed at a specialized cleft clinic in Switzerland, and by peers without UCLP, recruited in schools of the Vaud county, Switzerland. Participants: Youths aged 7.5 to 16, born with UCLP (clinical group, n = 41, 29.2% female) or without UCLP (control group, n = 56, 49.0% female). Outcome measures: Adverse life events (ALE; Adverse Life Events), behavioral and emotional symptoms (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and Post-Traumatic Checklist Scale), bodily self-esteem (Body Esteem Scale), quality of life (Kidscreen-27), emotion regulation (Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire), social support (Sarason's Social Support Questionnaire). Results: Most outcomes showed no significant group-difference. Compared to matched peers, youths with UCLP reported lower psychological quality of life and social support satisfaction, along with positive factors of fewer ALE and lower non-adaptive emotion regulation. In youths with UCLP, higher scores for ALE were associated with higher total scores for behavioral and emotional symptoms. Higher scores for bodily self-esteem were associated with higher scores for satisfaction of social support and adaptive emotion regulation. Conclusions: Youths with UCLP show globally similar psychological well-being as matched peers. We observed some vulnerabilities but also protective factors, which support the need for psychological perspective within multidisciplinary care. The relationships between dimensions suggest specific targets that may have an impact in context of intervention.