Moebius syndrome is a rare congenital condition that results in facial paralysis. A recent study of adults with Moebius syndrome identified their social challenges and coping strategies. The present study extended previous research by examining these factors among teenagers with Moebius syndrome. The study included 10 teenagers with Moebius Syndrome...
PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE: Current theories of adaptation to disability do not address differences in adaptation to congenital compared to acquired disability. Although people with congenital disabilities are generally assumed to be better adapted than people with acquired disabilities, few studies have tested this, and even fewer have attempted to explain the mechanisms...
This focus group study examined the social experiences of 10 adolescents ages 12-17 with Moebius Syndrome, a rare condition involving congenital facial paralysis. Content analysis revealed five themes: social engagement/disengagement; resilience/sensitivity; social support/stigma; being understood/misunderstood; and public awareness/lack of awareness of Moebius Syndrome. Compared to previous research on adults with...
People with facial paralysis (FP) report social difficulties, but some attempt to compensate by increasing expressivity in their bodies and voices. We examined perceivers’ emotion judgments of videos of people with FP to understand how they interpret the combination of an inexpressive face with an expressive body and voice. Results...
This focus group study explored the social interaction experiences and strategies of 12 adults with Moebius syndrome, a rare congenital condition characterized by facial paralysis. Content analysis revealed five themes of social functioning: social engagement/disengagement, resilience/sensitivity, social support/stigma, being understood/misunderstood, and public awareness/lack of awareness of Moebius Syndrome. Participants used...
Clinicians make a variety of judgments about their clients, from judging personality traits to making diagnoses, and a variety of methods are available to do so, ranging from observations to structured interviews. A large body of work demonstrates that from a brief glimpse of another’s nonverbal behavior, a variety of...
Although the importance of the face in communication is well-known, there has been little discussion of the ramifications for those who lack facial expression: individuals with facial paralysis such as Bell’s palsy and Möbius syndrome, and facial movement disorders like Parkinson’s disease. By examining the challenges experienced by these individuals,...
PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE: Disability identity involves affirming one’s status as a person with a
disability and incorporating this group membership into one’s identity. It is associated with well-being
in populations of people with disabilities, but its relationship with depression and anxiety
in multiple sclerosis (MS) has yet to be examined. It was...
Historically, Psychology education about disability focused narrowly on psychiatric and cognitive disabilities. Furthermore, disability tends to be viewed from the medical model, rather than the social model endorsed by disability scholars, which describes disability as primarily socially constructed. Course offerings for the Psychology departments of 98 top-ranked undergraduate programs in...