Malocclusion, peer relations and bullying in school children
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Is there a relationship between malocclusion, peer interactions and incidence of bullying among school children?
IRAS ID
219949
Contact name
Andrew T DiBiase
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
4 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Confidence in one's appearance is important for social interaction, particularly for children and adolescences in this increasingly image conscious society. This includes having a nice smile, the reason that most people seek orthodontic treatment. There is evidence that having goofy or very crooked teeth make a child more susceptible to bullying. We would like to find out if this extends further and also whether it effects how children interact and develop peer relationships, something that plays a major part in psychological health, wellbeing and moral development. We therefore plan to go into schools and examine school children and adolescents aged between 10 and 14 years for traits of malocclusion. We will also ask them to fill out a series of questionnaires that measure how they feel about themselves and their relationships with their peers,and whether they are experiencing any bullying. We can then determine whether having crooked or sticking out teeth affects peer relationships and whether a child is more likely to be bullied.
REC name
London - Surrey Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/LO/0791
Date of REC Opinion
21 Jul 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion