The lived experience of adults with anagen syndrome: an interpretative phenomenological analysis

Introduction: Currently there are no studies within the academic literature which document the lived experiences of those who have Anagen Syndrome (AS). AS is a benign condition which impacts head hair growth. There are two known phenotypes, Loose Anagen Hair Syndrome which is a condition that makes anagen hair easily and painlessly fall out, and Short Anagen Syndrome, which results in a short anagen hair growth rate. The study aimed to investigate the psychological and social factors the condition brings for those who have it.
Method: The participants were recruited from a Facebook support group for the condition. A sample of seven white adult females who self-identified as having Anagen Syndrome were interviewed using a semi-structured interview. The data from the interview was transcribed and the transcripts were individually and group wide analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis.
Results: Three master themes and nine superordinate themes were developed to describe the experiences of living with AS. The master themes are “feeling imperfect”, “I’m more than my hair” and “Nobody understands me”. Participants described two distinct time periods: before finding out about what AS was which left them feeling different and ‘feeling imperfect; and after finding out about the condition which is outlined in “I’m more than my hair”. Participants also reported feeling misunderstood throughout both of these time periods which is reflected in “Nobody understands”.
Discussion: The findings are compared to existing relevant psychological theory and literature. A critical evaluation of the study is presented as well as potential future research within the area and implications of the research.