An Attentional Bias Approach to Psoriasis (V 1.1)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An Attentional Bias Approach To Understanding And Reducing The Psychosocial Burden Of Psoriasis
IRAS ID
240077
Contact name
Henning Holle
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Hull
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
FH110, Ethics application to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Hull
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 6 months, 27 days
Research summary
People with psoriasis often experience social rejection. A big risk in this context is that psoriasis can lead to a spiral of increasing social isolation, driven by a fear of negative social reactions. Every time a person with psoriasis experiences such a negative social reaction, the link between fear, avoidance and further social withdrawal is reinforced. At the same time, the person may become more likely to always carefully monitor the environment for signs that others might reject them, for example, by showing facial expressions of disgust. In the medical literature this state is known as hypervigilance, which can lead to a cascade of negative thoughts and emotions, increased anxiety and exhaustion. The present research project aims to determine whether people with psoriasis can learn to escape the vicious and mutually reinforcing cycle of fear and increased attention towards potential social threats. In the current study, we will systematically document the degree to which people with psoriasis show hypervigilance or increased monitoring for different types of information (disease-related words, facial expressions of disgust, bodily expressions of disgust). Once we have determined this, future studies can then test whether people with psoriasis can be trained to allocate attention in a more balanced way, and whether such a training can increase resilience, reduce anxiety and thereby help to reduce the psychosocial burden of psoriasis.
REC name
HSC REC B
REC reference
19/NI/0170
Date of REC Opinion
27 Aug 2019
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion