15554 Personality and its effects on dermatologic conditions: A review

Abstract

Dermatologic conditions can have a significant impact on quality of life and psychosocial functioning. However, the psychosocial impact of a skin condition does not always correlate to objective medical severity. This discordance may, in part, be from differences in personality characteristics. As new methods of measuring personality have been developed, there has been more research into how personality affects dermatologic conditions. This review seeks to summarize research analyzing the interaction between personality and dermatologic conditions. Studies to date suggest associations of various personality characteristics with outcomes in some common, chronic skin conditions. In patients with atopic dermatitis (AD), those with higher conscientiousness exhibited less severe disease, and patients who developed AD during childhood displayed higher levels of agreeableness and openness as adults. Meanwhile, experimental studies suggest that agreeableness may help reduce symptoms. In contrast, patients with psoriasis demonstrated lower levels of extraversion. Experimental studies in psoriasis also revealed that lower agreeableness was associated with greater scratching and self-consciousness with greater itch. In vitiligo, high neuroticism and low extraversion was associated with worse quality of life. Importantly, the perceived severity of vitiligo was better explained by a patient’s personality and less by clinical objective measures. These findings show that personality characteristics can vary among different skin diseases, possibly augmenting patients’ symptoms or developing afterwards in response. In addition, experimental studies demonstrate that some personality characteristics may promote behaviors that prevent improvement of disease. Future research should further analyze which personality characteristics can impede treatment and to develop methods that improve outcomes.