CONFORMITY AND INDEPENDENCE IN ADOLESCENTs' MOTIVATION FOR ORTHODONTIC TREATMENT

Desire for orthodontic treatment among 129 adolescents, most of whom had some degree of malocclusion, was related to several dispositional factors and social pressures. A postive attitude toward orthodontic treatment was generally related to one's parents' wishes regarding treatment. This conformity effect was absent among those middle-class subjects who were dispositionally independent of adults, that is, who had low scores on the Test Anxiety Scale for Children and the Children's Social Desirability scale. In this subgroup, subjects' orthodontic attitudes were more positive if they had less Need for Peer Approval or if they had a more internalized Locus of Control. Working-class adolescents generally had attitudes just as positive toward orthodontic treatment but showed less clear conformity patterns.