THE UTILITARIAN ATTITUDE TOWARDS DISEASE AMONG THE ADOLESCENTS WITH DERMATOLOGICAL PATHOLOGY

Abstract

The article addresses the utilitarian attitude to disease among adolescents with dermatological pathology. Utilitarian attitudes mean the use of illness to gain additional attention and care from a meaningful environment. Also, it means the possibility of escaping the problem situations with a disease as an argument. Empirical research aimed to discover the substantive characteristics of utilitarian attitudes to disease in adolescents with dermatological pathology. The study was carried out based on the skin venereal department of Saint Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University. The total sample size is 60 persons. The respondents were young men and women aged from 14 to 17 years with psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. The empirical study included: • the author’s questionnaire “Characteristics of teenagers’ attitudes to their disease” (A. Dontsova, T. Novikova); • dermatological index of quality of life (DLQI and CDLQI); • the Color Metaphors (I.L. Solomin). Main results of the study. There is a difference between the subjective perception of the disease and the objective gravity of the disease. The utilitarian type of reaction to a disease is not related to the severity of the disease. A utilitarian attitude towards the disease is related to the adolescents’ search for social support. It is also a basement of the desire to avoid unfavorable situations and actions. Utilitarian attitudes towards the disease are more common among adolescents with atopic dermatitis than among adolescents with psoriasis.