In comparison with the norm data, psoriasis patients report less subjective health status and well-being whereas their life satisfaction is not affected. There is no clear association among illness impact, subjective well-being, and illness severity as assessed by dermatologists.

The Pictorial Representation of Illness and Self Measure (PRISM) assesses suffering. In this article, the authors explored the feasibility and psychometric qualities of 2 revised versions of the PRISM-PRISM-R1 and PRISM-R2-that they used in 3 studies of participants with different medical problems. The results showed significant differences between the patient groups in suffering as measured with the revised PRISMs. In addition, the revised PRISMs appeared to be sensitive to change in the predicted direction after an intervention. Last, the 2 measures of the revised PRISM seemed to indicate different aspects of suffering. These findings yield preliminary support for the feasibility and validity of the PRISM-R2.

No abstract