Nicknames, Teasing, Harassment and the Salience of Dental Features among School Children

TLDR

Other child characteristics influence both the abuse they attract and their responses. The study explores how deviant dental features expose children to ridicule and embarrassment. The study interviewed 531 children about nicknaming, teasing, and harassment, then asked 82 children to rate the salience of 12 faces with varying dental arrangements via a film. Teasing was especially directed at deviant dental features, and greater deviation increased salience, with teacher assessments of personality also linked to these patterns.

Abstract

The aim of the study was to explore the extent to which deviant dental features may expose children to ridicule and embarrassment. In the first part of the study, 531 school children were interviewed about their experience of nicknaming, teasing and harassment and it appeared that for teasing in particular, dental features could provide a significant target for abuse. The findings were also related to a teacher's brief assessment of the child's personality. In the second part of the investigation, the salience of dental features to children was examined by asking 82 children to respond to a cine film showing 12 children's faces and it appeared that in general, the more deviant the dental arrangement, the more salient will it be. In discussion however, it is considered that many other characteristics of an individual child will influence not only the abuse which he may attract but also the nature of his response.