[Implicit personality theories in dermatology. An empirical study on the image that physicians have of patients of diverse dermatologic diagnosis groups].

BACKGROUND AND

OBJECTIVE

Studies about the personality of dermatological patients are numerous. The results are inconsistent and peculiarities of the personality are rarely confirmed. Contrary to the usual procedure, this study asks for the impressions physicians have about their patients.

PATIENTS/

METHODS

To elicit associations dependent on a dermatological diagnosis, 27 physicians filled in a three-dimensional differential asking for their impressions about patients with atopic dermatitis, leg ulcer, malignant melanoma, or psoriasis vulgaris in order to quantify these impressions.

RESULTS

The dimension valence (good-bad) did not differ between the groups. The dimensions of excitation (active-passive) and potency (strong-weak) showed the biggest differences between patients with atopic dermatitis and ulcus cruris. The latter get significantly lower values on both dimensions. The correlations between the impression and the duration of employment in dermatology were low.

CONCLUSIONS

In our opinion it is necessary to raise the impression of medical personal about their patients because these impressions affect the interaction of the personal with the patient.