Examination of Gender in Pathologic Grooming Behaviors

• Published in: Psychiatric quarterly Vol. 78; no. 4; pp. 259 - 267
• Main Authors: Grant, Jon E., Christenson, Gary A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Springer 01.12.2007; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Addictive behaviors; Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Age of onset; Anxiety disorders; Anxiety Disorders - diagnosis; Anxiety Disorders - epidemiology; Behavior; Biological and medical sciences; Comorbidity; Consent; Dermatology; Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders - diagnosis; Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders - epidemiology; Female; Females; Functional impairment; Gender differences; Hair; Hair and nails disorders; Humans; Hygiene; Male; Medical sciences; Mental disorders; Miscellaneous; Nail Biting - psychology; Nail Biting - therapy; Obsessive compulsive disorder; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - diagnosis; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - epidemiology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Severity of Illness Index; Sex Factors; Skin; Skin - injuries; Substance abuse treatment; Trichotillomania; Trichotillomania - diagnosis; Trichotillomania - epidemiology; Trichotillomania - therapy; Women; Human; Grooming behavior; Skin disease; Impulse control disorder; Sex; Clinical form; Gender; Trichotillomania; Neurotic excoriation; Hair (head); Symptomatology; Concomitant disease; Age of onset; Pathologic skin picking; Impulse control disorders; Severity score; Psychopathology
• ISSN: 0033-2720; 1573-6709
• DOI: 10.1007/s11126-007-9045-z

Trichotillomania and pathologic skin picking are pathologic versions of grooming behaviors. Although mentioned in the psychiatric literature for decades, little is known about how gender influences clinical presentation of these behaviors. Seventy-seven adult subjects (12 men) with trichotillomania or pathologic skin picking were examined on a variety of clinical measures including symptom severity, functioning, and comorbidity. There were more similarities than differences between men and women with these behaviors. Some significant differences, however, were that men with grooming disorders had a later age of onset of the behaviors, had greater functional impairment due to the behaviors, and were more likely to suffer from a co-occurring anxiety disorder. This study suggests that gender may be an important clinical factor when assessing and treating these disorders. Further research is needed to validate our findings and identify whether treatments should be specially tailored differently for men and women with grooming disorders.