To ascertain the psychosocial effects of vitiligo, patients with vitiligo were compared with control subjects without skin diseases who were matched for age, sex, race, educational level, and marital status. Vitiligo patients were also compared with a matched sample of psoriasis patients and a matched sample of patients with other pigmentary disorders involving discoloration. The vitiligo patients scored lower on the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory than did the "normal" control subjects. Vitiligo patients exhibited better adjustment to their disorder and experienced less social discrimination than did psoriasis patients, although the two groups did not differ on overall self-esteem. Patients with vitiligo did not differ significantly from those with other pigmentary disorders on any measure.