Disfigurement

Introduction

The UK Office of Population Censuses and Surveys (OPCS) (1988/1989) has defined a disfigured person as someone who ‘suffers from a scar, blemish or deformity which severely affects (their) ability to lead a normal life’. Macgregor (1990) has described facial disfigurement as a ‘psychological and social death’. Disfigurement can result from many causes including congenital conditions (e.g. a cleft of the lip), from trauma (e.g. burns), surgical intervention (e.g. treatment for cancer), strokes and skin conditions (e.g. acne). Current estimates suggest that 10% of the population have some kind of facial ‘difference’ that sets them apart from the norm (Changing Faces, 2001). Recent research, however, suggests that the extent to which a visible difference results in social disability involves a complex interplay of psychological and social factors (Rumsey & Harcourt, 2004) (see also ‘Disability’).

The importance of the face in social interaction has long been recognized in the academic disciplines of psychology, history and anthropology. In a society that places a high premium on physical attractiveness and ‘wholeness’, it is not surprising that a sizeable research literature attests to the benefits of having a physically attractive facial appearance. When compared with the first impressions formed of those with an unattractive facial appearance, good-looking people are perceived to be more intelligent, popular, honest and socially desirable. Research also indicates that attractiveness is positively related to expectations of future success, happiness and marital satisfaction (Thompson et al., 1999).