The Rate of Social Acceptance in Psoriasis Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study in Iran

Psoriasis is recognized as a chronic immune system disease with unknown etiology that affects the skin. It might lead to psychological issues and pose considerable distress. The purpose of this study was to investigate the rate of social acceptance in psoriasis patients.

This was a cross-sectional study which was carried out on all the patients (n=100) referred to specialized skin diseases clinic in Yazd, Iran. 100 psoriasis patients and 100 healthy people as a control group were enlisted. The patients were eliminated from the research in case they had other chronic medical conditions since it could affect social acceptance. The patients completed a social acceptability questionnaire (Marlowe–Crowne Social Desirability Scale) and demographic information was also collected. Data were analyzed by ANOVA and chi square test in the form of descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS-24 software.

The mean of patients’ age was 36.97±13.94 years old and 66% of the patients were female. Mean score of social acceptance was 18.04±4.4. The mean score of social acceptance in psoriasis patients’ group (>40 years old) was estimated higher than in other groups (p>0.05). The results revealed that only the job variable affected the Mean±SD of social acceptance in these patients. The rate of social acceptance in psoriasis patients was higher in those with governmental jobs in comparison to those with self-employment jobs. Overall, the level of social acceptance in people with psoriasis was lower than in the control group.

This study showed that psoriasis patients who had governmental jobs received a great deal of acceptance via the people around them and they generally had a better quality of life.