Correlates of perceived stigma in vitiligo

Previous research has indicated that there is often a considerable degree of stigma attached to various dermato-logical conditions, including vitiligo, which involves gradual depigmentation of the skin. Some individuals are more affected by the disease than others, suggesting that psychological mechanisms, including the way that sufferers process information about themselves and about social situations, play a crucial role in adjustment. In this study a questionnaire package, which included measures of perceived stigma. self-esteem and disability. as well as a quest to supply qualitative information on incidents when vitiligo had affected their lives, was completed by 614 members of the UK Vitiligo Society. The results suggested that both sociological and psychological approaches are helpful in understanding expectations and experience. A regression analysis indicated that levels of distress, disability and self-esteem accounted for 55% of the variation in perceived stigmatisation. Respondents were much more likely to report incidents involving felt stigma than enacted stigma. but both types of incidents were similarly related to reports of distress and disability. The results indicate that vitiligo patients could benefit from psychological interventions which target perceptions of the self and interpretations of others' behaviour.