1.Perceptions and psychosocial judgement of patients with acne vulgaris
Ken Chen Loh ; Lee Chin Chan ; Phang Lay Fang
The Medical Journal of Malaysia 2020;75(1):18-23
Introduction: People often judge others and make decisions
based on the physical appearance of an individual. This
study assesses the perception and psychosocial judgment
on patients with acne vulgaris compared to those with clear
skin.
Methods: This survey was conducted in Penang from
October 2016 to June 2017. Respondents were those who
were ≥18 years. The survey was conducted using a
questionnaire which consists of three randomly selected
facial pictures, with at least one acne skin and one clear skin
picture.
Results: A total of 435 respondents were recruited. Two third
of the respondents (76%) suffered or had suffered from
acne. The skin was the first thing noticed by 76.1%
respondents when viewing pictures with acne compared
with 24.8% with clear skin (p <0.05). People with acne were
perceived as being unattractive, sad, lonely, distant,
unhealthy, disheveled and shy as compared to people with
clear skin (p<0.05). People with clear skin were perceived to
be healthier, confident, happy, attractive, successful and
intelligent (p<0.05). Respondents were more willing to
engage socially with people with clear skin rather than those
with acne skin. A significantly higher proportion of
respondents were likely to hire or vote for those with clear
skin as compared to acne skin. People with acne were also
perceived to have a lower educational level and poorer
leadership quality.
Conclusion: The results of this survey showed that there
were significantly negative perception and psychological
judgement toward individuals with acne vulgaris. These
negative impacts may affect social life of the acne sufferers,
their prospect of employment and career opportunities.
Acne
;
perception
;
psychosocial judgement