Psychosomatic Medicine 14:41-49 (1952)
© 1952 American Psychosomatic Society

The Rorschach Pattern in Neurodermatitis

¹ Mental Hygiene Clinic, Veterans Administration Seattle, Wash

Rorschachs were administered to 100 individuals with skin disorders. Of these, 50 had been diagnosed as suffering from neurodermatitis and 50 as patients with industrial skin disease. The groups were equated for age, education, and sex, resulting in the elimination of 2 controls. Six additional control cases were deleted because of questionable diagnoses. It was hypothesized that the neurodermatitis patients would evince several definite personality characteristics and that, as a group, they would differ from the controls in the Rorschach signs usually associated with these characteristics.

The results indicated significant differences between the two groups in amount and type of S used, relationship between shading, and color and F%. The experimentals used additional S more frequently than either primary S or absence of S. The controls omitted S more frequently than they used it either primarily or additionally. The experimentals used color (C) more frequently than shading (Fc+c+C') and the controls did the reverse. The controls' F% was more likely to exceed 50 than was true of the experimentals. On the basis of these data the following may be tentatively concluded:

That neurodermatitis patients tend to show marked signs of repressed hostility on the Rorschach.

That the evidence points in the direction of neurodermatitis comprising a syndrome frequently encountered in psychroneurotics with hysterical symptomatology.

That neurodermatitis is not solely a dermatological problem.

That a group of 50 airplane company employees, unselected except for the presence of occupational skin disease, exhibit Rorschach patterns which deviate from the so-called"norm".

It is hoped that the experiment will be repeated by others and that the additional information will help in the diagnosis and treatment of neurodermatitis.