[Voluntary Skin Depigmentation: Results Of The Rosenberg Global Self-Esteem Scale Applied To 150 Patients At The Dermatology And Venereology Department Of The Treichville University Hospital In Abidjan].

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate self-esteem in voluntary depigmented patients.

PATIENTS AND METHOD: We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study at the Dermatology and Venereology Department of the Treichville University Hospital Centre (CHU) in Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire) from July 2017 to January 2018 and it included 150 black African patients. The non-probability purposive sampling method was used. To assess self-esteem, we applied the Rosenberg scale.

RESULTS

(98%) of those surveyed were female and aged between 15 and 35 (76.70%). One depigmented person in two was single (53.30%). More than half(58.70%) said they had a tanned complexion before using lightening products and were satisfied with their physical appearance in 76% of cases. The main reasons for using depigmenting products were to improve physical appearance(80%) and to repair a physical defect(28%). The results of the Rosenberg global self-esteem scale showed that more than three quarters of the respondents (79.30%) had average to very high self-esteem.

CONCLUSION

Voluntary skin depigmentation in black sub-Saharan Africans does not necessarily reflect a problem with self-esteem, but could be part of a fashionable aesthetic project.