Relationship between compliance by adolescent orthodontic patients and performance on psychological tests

Two hundred and fifty-two adolescent orthodontic patients were categorized according to their general level of compliance during orthodontic treatment. Each patient completed three standardized psychological tests, (1) The Comprehensive Personal Assessment System: Self-Report Inventory, by Oliver H. Bown, (2) The Adolescent Alienation Index, by F. K. Heussenstamm, and (3) The Home Index, by Harrison Gough. The most important variable in predicting compliance was the sex of the patient. Females were more compliant than males. The psychological tests indicated that more compliant patients scored higher on self-esteem, derived self-satisfaction from personal achievement, were optimistic regarding the future, had higher socioeconomic status and had a low degree of general alienation from society. These easy-to-administer, brief psychological inventories could be helpful to clinicians in anticipating compliance problems during orthodontic treatment.