Influence of Gender, Dispositional Optimism, and Coping Strategies on Appearance-Related Distress Among Swedish Adults With Cleft Lip and Palate.

This study showed that high levels of dispositional optimism decrease appearance-related distress, particularly for women. The coping strategies used differed between men and women, and the results suggest that both gender and psychosocial facto r s need to be considered in regard to appearance-related distress among individuals with UCLP in both clinical and research settings. A possible way to decrease distress is to strengthen positive coping strategies and dispositional optimism.