Background: The psychosocial adjustment of mothers and children with cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) significantly influences health outcomes. Objectives: This study investigated the associations between maternal and child psychological flexibility and catastrophizing, and child health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and clinical management outcomes in Northwest Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study of 500 mother-child dyads was conducted at the Armed Forces Specialist Hospital, Kano. Participants completed the acceptance and action questionnaire-II, the pain catastrophizing scale, and the pediatric quality of life inventory (PedsQL). Clinical outcomes were extracted from records. Data were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation, hierarchical multiple regression, and logistic regression. Results: Higher psychological flexibility in both mothers (mean age 34.1 ± 6.8 years) and children (mean age 11.8 ± 2.6 years) was significantly associated with better child HRQoL (total PedsQL score: β = 0.42, P < 0.001 for child; β = 0.28, P < 0.001 for mother). Higher catastrophizing was associated with poorer HRQoL (β = −0.38, P < 0.001 for child; β = −0.31, P < 0.001 for mother). Children of mothers with high psychological flexibility had 2.5 times higher odds of good clinical adherence (Adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 2.54, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.75–3.68), while maternal catastrophizing predicted a 60% increased odds of postoperative complications (Adjusted OR = 1.60, 95% CI: 1.15–2.24). Conclusion: Psychological flexibility is a resilience factor linked to superior HRQoL and clinical outcomes in children with CL/P, whereas catastrophizing is a risk factor. Integrating psychological assessments and interventions targeting these processes into standard cleft care protocols is recommended.
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Yakubu et al. (2026) studied this question.
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