Stigma experiences in youth with facial differences: a multi-site study of adolescents and their mothers.

Objectives: To describe stigma experiences of adolescents with congenital and acquired facial differences.

Design: Used baseline cross-sectional stigma-related responses from a four site (Seattle WA, Galveston TX, Chicago IL and Chapel Hill NC) US study enrolling 185 English speaking, US participants ages 1118 years old with facial differences (60% male; 80% congenital conditions). Closed-ended, self-administered questions drawn from the Youth Quality of Life Instrument Facial Differences Module (YQOL-FD) determined perceptions of stigmatization.

Experiencing the "good life": literary views of craniofacial conditions and quality of life.

This article is a qualitative approach to understanding how people with craniofacial conditions see quality in their lives and how they understand the components of building a sense of well-being or goodness in their lives. Literary selections from fiction, Web sites, and first-person accounts are examined and categorized into domains and themes to offer some insight into how quality of life is built into the lives of people with craniofacial conditions. Three domains are noted: (1) a personality and psychological domain; (2) a family, work, and social interactive domain; and (3) a cultural and societal domain.