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The urge to change appearance in different psychopathological categories

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 June 2014

Joost à Campo ,
Solange Hardy ,
Harald Merckelbach ,
Henk Nijman  and
Almar Zwets
Joost à Campo*
Affiliation:
Mondriaan Zorggroep, Heerlen, the Netherlands
Solange Hardy
Affiliation:
Mondriaan Zorggroep, Heerlen, the Netherlands
Harald Merckelbach
Affiliation:
Department of Experimental Psychology and the Faculty of Law, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
Henk Nijman
Affiliation:
Forensic psychiatric hospital ‘De Kijvelanden’, Poortugaal, the Netherlands Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
Almar Zwets
Affiliation:
Forensic psychiatric hospital ‘De Kijvelanden’, Poortugaal, the Netherlands
*
Joost à Campo, Mondriaan Zorggroep, P.O. Box 4436, 6401 CX, Heerlen, the Netherlands. Tel: 31455736135; Fax: 31455741277; E-mail: J.a.Campo@smzg.nl
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Abstract

Background:

In professional literature, mainly anecdotic descriptions can be found of striking, sometimes even bizarre manipulations of the appearance by psychiatric patients.

Objective:

In this study, it was examined whether the inclination to (drastically) change the appearance is related to (pre)psychotic symptoms.

Methods:

By means of a questionnaire, the frequency and nature of changing the appearance was studied among a sample of healthy volunteers (n = 38) and psychiatric patients (n = 61). The psychiatric group consisted of 1) patients with schizophrenia (n = 22), 2) patients with a borderline personality disorder (n = 20) and 3) patients with a depressive disorder (n = 19).

Results:

In accordance with previous findings, self-reports of drastic changes of appearance were associated with scores on various schizotypy scales. Psychiatric patients reported more changes of appearance, compared with healthy volunteers. Patients with schizophrenia reported most changes, followed by the group of patients with borderline personality disordered.

Conclusions:

Perhaps, drastic changes of the appearance are a visible expression of the loss of ego boundaries and/or of the sense of reality.

Keywords

borderline personality disorderphysical appearancepsychosisschizophreniaschizotypy
Type
Research Article
Information
Acta Neuropsychiatrica , Volume 19 , Issue 2 , April 2007 , pp. 104 - 108
Copyright
Copyright © 2007 Blackwell Munksgaard

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