Comparision between relationship patterns in alopecia areata and in psychiatric disorders through the core conflictual relationship theme (CCRT) method

Objective: Several reports suggest psychological factors may play a role in the etiology or course of alopecia areata. However, empirical information about the interpersonal patterns of patients with alopecia areata at best is limited. The authors aimed at identifying possible differences between relationship patterns displayed by patients suffering from alopecia areata and those displayed by psychiatric patients. Methods: 36 alopecic patients and 55 psychiatric patients were enrolled in the study. The Core Conflictual Relationship Theme (CCRT) method is a reliable and widely adopted method for scoring relationship patterns, a basic facet of human personality. It was scored on transcriptions of psychotherapy sessions or of interviews dedicated to eliciting material for CCRT scoring, the Relationship Anecdote Paradigm (RAP) interviews. The material was rated according to the Clustered Standard Categories system. The frequencies of each CCRT component in the two samples were confronted through analysis of variance. Results: Patients with alopecia areata showed a higher frequency of the wish: 'to oppose', of the responses from others: 'upset', 'reject', and 'controlling', and of the responses of self: 'oppose', 'helpful', 'disappointed' and 'self-controlled'. The 'wish' 'to assert' was observed more frequently among the patients with a psychiatric disorder. Conclusion: The present research indicates that patients suffering from alopecia areata display relationship themes different from psychiatric patients.