Acute Acne Emotional Difficulties

Not only is acute acne distressing on the exterior and physical looks of a person, it also plays an important part in the emotional and psychological condition of the youth. Through research, it has been established that the presence of acne has been associated with higher rates of emotional and behavioral difficulties in the youth. In this study, three hundred and seventeen students between the age groups of 14 to 16 took part in it.

Using and age-appropriate and validated measure of emotional well-being, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and the Acne Management Questionnaire were both used to find out the psychological health, level of acne knowledge and the amount of help seeking behavior the participants had. The severity of the acne was graded through visual facial examination with an adaptation of the Leeds Acne Grading Technique.

With this research, it was found out that acute acne prevailed in 50% of the study sample where 11% of the participants suffered from moderate to severe acute acne. Those with definite acne and the girls were those who suffered most from emotional and behavioral difficulties. It was the participants with acne who scored in the abnormal and borderline range in the SDQ while knowledge of acne was quite low, where only 45% of them had some knowledge of acne. In fact, less then a third of the participants who were suffering from definite acne actually sought any help from a doctor at all.

With this research, it was proven that acute acne, being a common disorder in English adolescents, had considerable impact on the emotional well-being and health of the sufferers. It was thus surmised that low levels of acne knowledge and its poor management are issues that could be rectified and solved through some school-based educational programs.