Patients with psoriasis

psychosocial adaptation and personality features

Abstract

There has been increasing interest in the investigation of the psychological and social aspects of patients with psoriasis. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the psychological and adaptive conditions of patients with psoriasis and their relations with demographic variables and clinical condition. Twenty-five women and 25 men aged 20-50 years with a diagnosis of vulgar psoriasis were evaluated at the University Hospital, FMRP-USP. The Simplified Personality Inventory (SPI) and the Quality of Life Inventory (QLI) were applied in individual sessions according to technical recommendations and complemented with a semi-structured interview. The protocols were examined and compared to the normative data and the data were quantified and analyzed statistically. Eighty percent of the patients were found to present a tendency to personality deviation, with a predominance of the Extroversion, Insanity and Neuroticism scales. Most patients were in the 20 to 30 year age range and reported difficulties in psychosocial adaptation, especially in areas of routine activities (p<0.001), psoriatic extension, dissatisfaction about their physical appearance and Insanity and Neuroticism deviations, in association with impairment of routine activities, personal relations and leisure. The data indicate an inter-relation between psychological aspects, psychosocial adaptation and the clinical peculiarities of the disease.