Body dysmorphic concerns, social adaptation, and motivation for psychotherapeutic support in dermatological outpatients.
OBJECTIVE
Dermatologists are increasingly confronted with patients affected by body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). BDD is characterized by excessive preoccupation with one or more perceived defect(s) or flaw(s) in physical appearance which are not observable or appear slight to others. So far, there have been only few studies examining the prevalence of BDD in dermatological outpatients. In addition, the need for psychotherapeutic support in dermatological outpatients with body dysmorphic concerns has not yet been systematically examined. The objective of the present study was therefore to investigate the frequency of body dysmorphic concerns as well as social adaptation and the need for psychotherapeutic support in the aforementioned patient group.


METHODS
A total of 252 dermatological outpatients seen at a German university hospital were consecutively enrolled, and examined using the Dysmorphic Concerns Questionnaire, the Social Adaptation Self-Evaluation Scale, and the German version of the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment Scale.


RESULTS
7.9 % of all outpatients (unselected sample) showed positive test results, suggesting clinically relevant body dysmorphic concerns. Patients with clinically relevant body dysmorphic concerns exhibited poor social adaptation. Contrary to expectations, these patients revealed a high motivation for change, indicating the necessity for psychotherapeutic support.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings confirm previous prevalence rates of BDD in dermatological outpatients, and highlight the need for providing psychotherapeutic support to dermatological patients.
Institute for Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. ritter@psych.uni-frankfurt.de.
Viktoria
V
Ritter
Department of Dermatology and Allergology, Charité - University Medicine, Berlin, Germany.|Department of Dermatology and Allergology, University Hospital, Jena, Germany.
Joachim W
JW
Fluhr
Department of Dermatology and Allergology, University Hospital, Jena, Germany.
Sibylle
S
Schliemann-Willers
Department of Dermatology and Allergology, University Hospital, Jena, Germany.
Peter
P
Elsner
Institute for Psychosocial Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, Jena, Germany.
Bernhard
B
Strauß
Institute for Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Ulrich
U
Stangier
D057215:Body Dysmorphic Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D009042:Motivation; D010045:Outpatients; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires