Internalized Stigma in Pediatric Psoriasis: A Comparative Multicenter Study
Erkan Alpsoy, Mualla Polat, İbrahim Halil Yavuz, Selda Pelin Kartal, Didem Didar Balcı, Ayşe Serap Karadağ, Aslı Bilgiç Temel, Ercan Arca, Bilge Fettahlıoğlu Karaman, Selma Emre, Esra Adışen, Neslihan Şendur, Özlem Bilgiç, Ayça Cordan Yazıcı, Başak Yalçın, Rafet Koca, Kamer Gündüz, Murat Borlu, Tülin Ergun, Pınar Dursun, Serap Güneş Bilgili, Aslı Sürer Adanır, Ayla Gülekon, Gizem Yağcıoğlu, Ertan Yılmaz, Ufuk Kavuzlu, Yeşim Şenol
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Internalized stigma, adoption of negative attitudes and stereotypes of the society regarding persons' illness, has not been studied previously in pediatric psoriasis patients. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate the internalized stigma in pediatric psoriasis patients and to determine differences according to factors affecting internalized stigma compared to adult psoriasis patients. METHODS: This multicenter, cross-sectional, comparative study included 125 pediatric (55 female, 70 male; mean age±standard deviation [SD], 14.59±2.87 years) and 1,235 adult psoriasis patients (577 female, 658 male; mean age±SD, 43.3±13.7 years). Psoriasis Internalized Stigma Scale (PISS), Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), Perceived Health Status (PHS), and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ)-12 were the scales used in the study. RESULTS: =0.04) in the pediatric group were related to high PISS scores. CONCLUSION: Internalized stigma in pediatric patients is as high as adults and is related to poor quality of life, general health, and psychological illnesses. Unlike adults, internalized stigma was mainly determined by psoriasis per se, rather than disease severity or involvement of visible body parts, genitalia or folds.