Comparison of the psychosocial impact of acne in adolescents and adults; body satisfaction, self‐esteem, and quality of life

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Abstract
Background: Dermatological diseases, including acne vulgaris, have significant psychosocial effects on patients.Aims: To compare body satisfaction, self‐esteem, and quality of life (QoL) in adolescents and adults with acne.Methods: A total of 192 acne patients (132 female, 60 male; aged 19.42 ± 3.50 years) were included in the study. Global Acne Grading System, Rosenberg Self‐Esteem Scale (RSES), Turkish Acne Quality of Life Index (TAQoLI), and Body Cathexis Scale (BCS) were used. The patients were divided into two groups: under 20 years old (adolescents) and 20 years and above (adults).Results: The mean RSES score was found as 19.49 ± 5.11, the mean BCS score was 143.95 ± 20.92 and the mean TAQoLI score was 23.44 ± 10.02. There was no difference between adolescents and adults in terms of the mean value of the RSES score, TAQoLI score, and BCS score (p > 0.05). But, the proportion of those whose RSES score is below 15 is higher in patients under 20 years of age (28%) than patients aged 20 and over (14%) (p < 0.05). Linear regression analysis revealed that the most important determinant of body satisfaction was self‐esteem (β = 0.287,p < 0.05), the most important determinants of self‐esteem were body satisfaction (β = 0.208,p < 0.05), QoL (β = −0.398,p < 0.001), and education level (β = 0.245,p = 0.007) and, one of the most important determinant of QoL was self‐esteem (β = −0.403,p < 0.001).Conclusions: This study demonstrates that acne vulgaris negatively affects an individual's body satisfaction, self‐esteem, and QoL. The psychosocial burden of acne is as significant for adults as for adolescents. Body satisfaction, self‐esteem, and QoL are in interaction with each other.

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