Pediatr. praxi. 2025;26(5):309-314 | DOI: 10.36290/ped.2025.062

Psychodermatology in paediatrics and adolescence

MUDr. Barbara Ivanková, MBA¹, doc. MUDr. Janette Baloghová, PhD.^{1, 2}

¹ Klinika dermatovenerológie, Univerzitná nemocnica L. Pasteura, Košice

² Klinika dermatovenerológie, LF Univerzity P. J. Šafárika, Košice

Psychodermatology is a rapidly developing discipline, encompassing disorders predominantly at the interface of dermatology, psychology and psychiatry. The period of childhood and adolescence brings its own specificities; the parent also enters into a very close cooperation. Psychological stress has been reported to disrupt the homeostasis of the epidermal permeability barrier and may act as a precipitant for some inflammatory disorders. Children, given their age and emotional maturity, may experience stress due to changes in school, conflicting family environments, life events, or pressure to meet expectations. Chronic somatic illness can also be stressful, where accumulated internal pressure and tension can lead to self-inflicted damage to skin and hair. Increased awareness of psychocutaneous disorders and a personalized approach in an interdisciplinary collaboration of multiple specialists, leads to better outcomes, understanding and support for patients with problems where skin and mind are in communication with each other.

Keywords: psychodermatology, childhood and adolescence, skin, psyche, stress, psychosomatic aspects in dermatology.

Accepted: October 20, 2025; Published: October 30, 2025  Show citation