Investigating Personality and Psychopathology in Patients With Psoriasis

Abstract

Abstract. A broad range of literature reported higher rates of psychopathology and personality disorders among patients affected by skin conditions. Specifically, depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideations are more frequently reported by patients affected by skin diseases. This study aimed to examine psychopathology and personality in a group of patients affected by psoriasis by means of a self-report measure (Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory – MCMI-III) and a performance-based technique (Wartegg Drawing Completion Test [WDCT], CWS). Study results showed a higher rate of passive-aggressiveness and paranoia among psoriatic patients (MCMI-III). When assessing patients through the performance-based technique (WDCT, CWS), a higher rate of global rejection (GR) – linked by previous literature to suicidal ideation – and a lower affective quality of the drawings emerged. We discuss the clinical importance of detecting psychological issues in dermatology patients by means of a multimethod assessment that goes beyond patients’ self-evaluation of their symptoms and emotions.

As Time Goes by: Anxiety Negatively Affects the Perceived Quality of Life in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes of Long Duration

“…It is known that specific features as compliance and adherence are fundamental to adequately manage T2DM long life, reducing the wide related outcomes (Markle-Reid et al, 2018). Accordingly, the emotional distress related to the chronic affection, needs a psychological adaptation process to integrate illness experience into individual’s life context (Whittemore and Dixon, 2008; Whittemore et al, 2010; Van Houtum et al, 2015; Vari et al, 2017; Marchini et al, 2018). Thus, individuals with T2DM try to manage with the stress of living with such chronic illness (Whittemore et al, 2010; Savarese et al, 2018), developing psychological adaptation and adherence through the acceptance of T2DM, including toleration, approval, integration and identification (Lo Coco et al, 2005; Schmitt et al, 2014, 2018; Ebrahimi et al, 2016; Stanton and Hoyt, 2017; Lai et al, 2019).…”

Wartegg Drawing Completion Test (WDCT) for assessing disordered thought and perception.

“…The CWS has been used to assess attachment styles in association with such measures as the Separation Anxiety Test (Maio et al, 2008) and the Adult Attachment Projective Picture System (Crisi, 2011;George & West, 2012). In forensic psychology, the CWS (Crisi, 2009) has been employed in the evaluation of worker abuse (Crisi & Pastore, 2006), depression and suicide (Daini et al, 2010), eating disorders (Daini et al, 2006), trauma (Crisi, 2010), and somatic diseases (Vari et al, 2017). The CWS has also been applied in the field of therapeutic assessment (Engelman et al, 2016;Finn, 2014;Palm, 2017) and is now one of the tools required to obtain certification in therapeutic assessment.…”

Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI-IV) for assessing disordered thought and perception.

“…Although other inventories have personality scales, the MCMI is the only broad-range commercially available instrument with scales that resembles the personality profiles in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5;American Psychiatric Association, 2013). The MCMI personality scales have been found useful in the determination of personality style differences (e.g., Incerti et al, 2015;Knabb et al, 2012;Lopez-Pantonja et al, 2012;Ortiz-Tallo et al, 2011;Vari et al, 2017).…”