Vivere con una deturpazione fisica: conseguenze psicologiche e strategie di adattamento.

Subjects with a congenital or acquired physical disfigurement have to cope with specific challenges related to self-perception and social relationships. Research into the objective severity of disfigurement and the quality of the subject’s psychosocial regulation revealed a non-linear and non-univocal correlation between these two variables. This review analyses factors that influence adjustment in cases of disfigurement: personal history, phase of life cycle, social support and coping strategies. From a clinical perspective it is stressed how attention to the psychological dimension increases the effectiveness of different types of psychological, educational and medical intervention.