Psychological Assessment of Patients With Chest Wall Deformities

Evaluation of Mental Health, Self-esteem, Body Image and Quality of Life in Patients With Pectus Excavatum or Pectus Carinatum: Relationship With Severity and Type of the Deformity, and Patients' Age

The study aims to investigate the most frequent psychological outcomes associated to chest wall deformities and patients' quality of life.

The study aims at providing psychological assessment (body image, self-esteem, overall mental health) and quality of life investigation of adolescents affected by chest wall deformities, in relation to the severity and type of deformity, and patients' age; identifying risk factors for psychological disorders.

The following hypotheses were tested: differences between patients with different chest wall deformities regarding body image and mental health were expected; no hypothesis on the possible results concerning the effect of the severity of deformity on each studied variable was formulated, since previous findings are unclear. Concerning age, some differences according to different age ranges were expected. Regarding risk factors for mental health problems, older age and greater body image dissatisfaction were expected to be significant risk factors for psychological problems; regarding the severity and type of deformity, results of previous studies are unclear or lacking, so no hypothesis was tested; quality of life and self-esteem variables were also tested, as previous studies showed they are significantly related to general well being and mental health in adolescents.

Adolescents coming at the outpatient clinics for the first evaluation of their chest wall and one of their parents/caregivers were enrolled. After the medical examination, patients meeting inclusion criteria are invited to participate in the study and to be assessed by a trained psychologist who administered them all questionnaires after they expressed their informed consent.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Clinical diagnosis of pectus excavatum or pectus carinatum;
• Age from 12 to 18 years old;
• High level of fluency in Italian.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Clinical diagnosis of chronic or acute disease, or presence of other conditions which could significantly influence adolescents' quality of life, mental health, body image and self-esteem;
• Diagnosis of intellectual disability or other conditions (e.g. low level of fluency in Italian) which could hinder questionnaires understanding.