Psychosocial characteristics of patients in a cosmetology clinic: results of a non-sample study

Abstract

The relevance of the study is determined by the rapid development of medical cosmetology, which, unlike plastic surgery, has not been studied at all in psychological and sociological terms, although the effect of facial skin defects on the emotional state, social success, quality of life is beyond doubt, and their elimination significantly affects psychological well-being. patients. A practicing dermatologist-cosmetologist conducted a non-selective clinical and socio-psychological study of 188 patients (mean age 39.12+0.81 years) of a cosmetology clinic. The author’s structured interview and the medico-sociological scale «Level of social frustration» were used. According to 50 parameters, women with mild, moderate and significant severity of cosmetic problems were compared. Statistical methods of analysis were used (Pearson’s χ2 and ANOVA). An analysis of clinical data showed a relationship between the severity of a facial skin defect and its nature (symptoms), age, comorbid pathology, and treatment efficacy. Social positions (educational and labor status, nature of professional activity), significant spheres of personal relations (to oneself, to persons of the opposite sex, family relations, the presence and nature of mental trauma) were studied. Among the psychological and social characteristics, the characteristics of the family sphere, the reasons for visiting the clinic, and the patient›s subjective assessment of the impact of the cosmetic problem on the quality of life have a statistical relationship with the severity of the cosmetic problem and the age of the patients. The results are compared with the data of modern world literature. The limitations of the study associated with the use of non-standardized methods, which are relevant, however, to the tasks of a screening non-selective survey, are noted. The prospects for further studies of patients of the clinic for non-surgical correction of appearance using psychometric (standardized) methods are outlined.