Psychosocial impact of skin diseases: A gender based comparative study

Pages: 606-609
Priyanka Jain and Sushila Pareek (Department of Psychology, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, Rajasthan)

People face wide spectrum of diseases and problems in their lives but ones which are visible to the world can be particularly stressful. When considering the impact of skin disease, many people fail to realize just how important the psychological aspects can be. Skin disease is often considered to be ‘only cosmetic’ by many medical professionals and lay-people alike, but unlike most internal illnesses, skin disease is often immediately visible to others. The purpose of this research was to compare males and females suffering from acne, alopecia areata (AA) and melanosis on perceived stress, optimism and social appearance anxiety. The study included 120 skin patients ages ranged from 15 to 25 yrs. Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R) and Social Appearance Anxiety Scale (SAAS) were administered to both males and females with acne, AA and melanosis. Analytical evaluation was done by ANOVA and Kruskal Wallis tests. The results of the present study revealed that females with skin diseases scored higher on perceived stress and social appearance anxiety as compared to the males. With regard to optimism, males were found to be slightly more optimistic than females. This study proposes a framework for gender sensitive research in the field of psychodermatology and is an attempt to increase awareness regarding the difficulties that patients with skin diseases can face. A more holistic approach towards the treatment of skin disorders is likely to come into shape with the inclusion of psychotherapy along with medical treatment and thus reflects the seriousness of the problem which needs to be attended to in a more comprehensive manner.