Objectives. To investigate the cognitive model of psoriasis held by patient
s and to explore its relationship with pathological worrying, and with the
clinical severity and anatomical location of the patients' psoriasis.
Design. Correlational design.
Methods. A total of 140 patients with psoriasis attending the University of
Manchester's Psoriasis Speciality Clinic at Hope Hospital, Salford underwe
nt a medical examination where the clinical severity of their psoriasis and
medical history were assessed by their dermatologist. The Penn Stare Worry
Questionnaire (PSWQ) and the Illness perception Questionnaire (IPQ) were u
sed to assess worry and illness representations, respectively.
Results. Clinical severity of psoriasis was not associated with illness per
ceptions nor with pathological worry. A logistic regression analysis indica
ted that pathological worry was associated with stronger beliefs in psorias
is having serious consequences, and stronger beliefs in an emotional cause.
Women were also significantly more likely to be members of the pathologica
l worry group. It was found that 38% of the sample scored within one standa
rd deviation of the worry score for patients diagnosed with Generalized Anx
iety Disorder.
Conclusions. A considerable number of patients with psoriasis experience hi
gh levels of worrying thoughts that are linked more to personal and social
evaluative concerns than to the pathophysiology or course of their disease.