Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gxg78 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T07:21:33.053Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A Study of Depression and Obsessionality in Dysmorphophobic and Psoriatic Patients

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

G. E. Hardy  and
J. A. Cotterill
G. E. Hardy
Affiliation:
Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry, University of Leeds
J. A. Cotterill
Affiliation:
Department of Dermatology, The General Infirmary at Leeds
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Measures of depression and obsessionality were made in patients with dysmorphophobia, psoriasis and control subjects. The depression score distinguished all three groups. Patients with dysmorphophobia had significantly higher scores compared to the patients with psoriasis, who in turn had significantly higher scores compared to a control group. Patients with dysmorphophobia and psoriasis had equally elevated obsessional symptom scores compared to controls. It is unlikely, therefore, that dysmorphophobic symptoms are due to an obsessional state. Depression, however, was found to be an important clinical feature of dysmorphophobia.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 140 , Issue 1 , January 1982 , pp. 19 - 22
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Andreasen, N. & Bardach, J. (1977) Dysmorphophobia: symptom or disease? Brief communications. American Journal of Psychiatry, 134, 673–5.Google Scholar
Beck, A. T. (1967) Depression: Clinical, Experimental and Theoretical Aspects. London: Staples Press.Google Scholar
Bychowski, G. (1943) Disorders in the body image in the clinical picture of psychoses. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 97, 310–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coles, R. & Ryan, T. (1975) The psoriasis sufferer in the community. British Journal of Dermatology, 93, 111.Google Scholar
Connolly, F. H. & Gibson, M. (1978) Dysmorphophobia—A long-term study. British Journal of Psychiatry, 132, 568–70.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cooper, J. (1970) The Leyton Obsessional Inventory. Psychological Medicine, i, 48—64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cotterill, J. A. (1981) Dermatological non-disease. British Journal of Dermatology, 103, suppl. 18, 13.Google Scholar
Crisp, A. H. (1981) Dysmorphophobia and the search for cosmetic surgery. British Medical Journal, 282, 1099–100.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dietrich, H. (1962) Über Dysmorphophobie. Archiv für Psychiatrie und Nervenkrankheiten (Berlin), 203–5, 511—18.Google Scholar
Eckert, J. (1975) Diffuse hair loss and psychiatric disturbance. Acta Dermatovenereologica, 55, 147–9.Google ScholarPubMed
Hamilton, M. (1955) Psychosomatics. London: Chapman and Hall.Google Scholar
Hardy, G. E. (1980) Dysmorphophobia. Unpublished M.Sc. Thesis, University of Leeds.Google Scholar
Hay, G. G. (1970a) Dysmorphophobia. British Journal of Psychiatry, 116, 399—406.Google Scholar
Hay, G. G. (1970b) Psychiatric aspects of cosmetic nasal operations. British Journal of Psychiatry, 116, 85–7.Google Scholar
Head, H. (1920) Studies in Neurology, vol. 2. London: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Kendell, R. & Discipio, J. (1970) Obsessional symptoms and obsessional personality traits in patients with depressive illness. Psychological Medicine, 1, 65—72.Google Scholar
Metcalfe, M. & Goldman, E. (1965) Validation of an inventory for measuring depression. British Journal of Psychiatry, 111, 240–2.Google Scholar
Morselli, E. (1886) Sulla dismorfofobia e sulla tefefobia. Bolletino Accademia delle Scienze Mediche di Geneva. Google Scholar
Rorsman, H. (1976) Dermatology. Sweden: Wolfe Medical Publishers.Google Scholar
Seville, R. H. (1977) Psoriasis and stress. British Journal of Dermatology, 97, 297—302.Google Scholar
Smart, D. E. (1976) Some personality characteristics of patients with anorexia nervosa. British Journal of Psychiatry, 128, 57–9.Google Scholar
Sneddon, I. B. (1979) The presentation of psychiatric illness to the dermatologist. Acta Dermatovenereologica, 59, suppl. 85, 177–9.Google Scholar
Stekel, W. (1950) Compulsion and Doubt, vol. ii. London: Neville.Google Scholar
Wittkower, E. & Russell, B. (1953) Emotional Factors in Skin Diseases. London: Cassell.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.