In the last years, a considerable increase in syphilis incidencewas observed in Poland. This is a condition with serious health and psychosocialconsequences. The research demonstrates that one of the eventswhich significantly modify the course of human life is the somatic diseaseexperience; hence, it was decided to examine selected aspects of the livingsituation of persons suffering from syphilis, which refer to the socialposition held by these persons. Materials for the research were collectedbased on the anonymous authors’ survey composed of 16 questions. Theresearch lasted for two years and covered a group of 42 syphilitic patients(35 males and 7 females). The mean age of male patients was 35.7 and offemale patients 37.0 years. Among the participants, 8 persons had beensubjected to treatment for a few years, 11 for about a year, and 22 personshad recently become ill. Patients assessed the attitude toward themselvesmostly as invariable, followed by unstable; 45.2% of subjects consideredtheir position in the family as average and 42.9% as high; 28.6% of patientsassessed their occupational position as average and the same numberadmitted to be currently out of work. Most frequently, unemployed werepatients who had been affected by the disease for several years (62.5%),whereas their social position was assessed either as high (47.6%) or average(45.2%). Irrespective of the duration of the disease, patients (duringhospitalization) usually met a lot of people. It has been proven that mostof the syphilitic patients do not have negative attitude toward themselvesand do not assess their social position as inferior, regardless of the durationof the disease. Such a picture of the living situation may be a manifestationof the compensation for the negative mental state, activation ofother defense mechanisms or proper strategy of coping with the stressor.The generally optimistic image of the studied group of syphilitic patientsmay constitute a warning against an increased risk from the infectedpersons
