Patterns of Adaptation in Asthma and Psoriasis

Abstract

Patterns of adaptation to a conflict situation were explored by means of the repeated confrontation with the Stroop task (Serial Color-Word Test) in two clinical groups: bronchial asthma ( n = 40) and psoriasis ( n = 28). The respective psychosomatic component of each of these syndromes was expected to correspond to peculiar patterns of adaptation. Differences between asthma and psoriasis patients were statistically significant. Asthma was characterized by patterns with high values of nonlinear change, both within each subtest (Primary Types) and across the five subtests (Secondary Types). Psoriatic patients were classified most often as having the CV type (high linear increase of nonlinear changes across the subtests) and showed some more ITA+ types, i.e., within the first subtest, longer reading time at the beginning, followed by uniformly faster times.