A study of neuroticism in skin patients

Abstract

A questionnaire study of neuroticism was done on 200 skin patients attending a general hospital skin out patients department. They were found to have significantly higher neuroticism scores than normal population. The neuroticism scale employed was the P.G.I. Health Questionnaire. On the basis of this questionnaire no differences in neuroticism scores between traditional 'organic' and 'functional' groups of skin disorders were observed. The scabies patients did not differ from normal in the neuroticism scores, whereas neurodermatitis, vitiligo and leprosy patients were farther from normals in that order. The probable fallacies of such a study and its limitations in establishing any causal relationship between psyche and soma are discussed. It is suggested that for studying such relationship between psyche and soma, intensive study of a limited number of patients is just as important as a large scale (and therefore necessarily superficial) study. The latter though permitting statistical manipulations may lead to oversimplification.