Social problem-solving, perceived stress, negative life events, depression and life satisfaction in psoriasis

Psoriasis is a chronic dermatosis which may cause significant impairment of the patient's quality of life.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the social problem-solving skills, perceived stress, negative life events, depression and life satisfaction in psoriasis patients.

Data were gathered by means of questionnaires and clinical evaluations from 51 psoriatic patients and 51 matched healthy controls.

Average disease duration was 16.47 years and average Psoriasis Area and Severity Index score was 3.67. Compared with the controls, the patients displayed lower social problem-solving skills. They displayed higher negative problem orientation and impulsive-careless problem-solving style scores than the controls. Patients tended also to show more avoidant problem-solving style and lower life satisfaction than controls. There was no difference between psoriatic patients and controls in terms of depression, perceived stress and negative life events. Higher social problem-solving skills were associated with lower depression, perceived stress and fewer numbers of negative life events but higher level of life satisfaction.

The patient group largely included mild and moderate psoriatic cases.

The findings of the study suggest that problem-solving training or therapy may be a suitable option for alleviating levels of psychological distress in patients suffering from psoriasis.