Factors associated with parental adaptation to having a child with a cleft lip and/or palate: the impact of parental diagnosis

Objective: To investigate the impact of parental diagnosis of cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) on factors associated with parental adaptation to having a child with a cleft.

Design: A mixed-methodological, quasi-experimental, causal-comparative research design.

Participants: 27 parents born with a CL/P and 27 parents born without a CL/P completed the study measures.

Outcome Measures: The Ways of Coping Questionnaire, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List and the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory were included along with a researcher-designed cleft-specific questionnaire.

Results: The cleft-specific questionnaire revealed that parents born with a CL/P reported feelings of guilt significantly more often than parents without a CL/P. Parents without a cleft reported feeling anxious significantly more often than parents born with a CL/P. The qualitative aspect of the study yielded further between-group differences. How they felt that their own cleft-related experiences influenced their adjustment to having a child with a cleft emerged as a dominant theme for parents born with a cleft, while parents without a CL/P highlighted the importance of accurate information and positive interactions with clinicians in facilitating adjustment to their situation. No significant between-group differences were found on the standardized measures; however, the study's small sample size increases the risk of type II error and may account for the lack of significant findings.

Conclusions: These findings appear to provide support for the widely-held clinical opinion that parental diagnosis of CL/P impacts on how parents cope with and adjust to their child's diagnosis.

Key words: parental diagnosis, CL/P, adaptation, coping