Final paper

Final paper

Young people develop psychological challenges when faced with skin infections. They tend to feel embarrassed and isolate themselves from their peers. If the infection persists, they suffer from low self-esteem and may develop harmful addictions. While some skin disorders are temporary, others may cause permanent consequences.  One of the most severe skin disorders is acne vulgaris. Studies show that acne vulgaris affects about 80% of adolescents globally. Besides, up to two-thirds of the global adult population are prone to this infection. Acne vulgaris mostly affect the face and may also occur on the upper arms, trunk, and back. Previous researches suggest that the most common effects of acne vulgaris are negative self-image and poor social relations. However, these effects vary among persons. For instance, female acne vulgaris patients become more vulnerable to their health-related effects than males. Also, some patients develop more significant impairments, while others only face mild challenges. Amongst the negative impacts, most patients suffer from depression, loneliness, and internet addiction. As such,  Coşkun Öztekin and Aynure Öztekin conducted this study, titled “The association of depression, loneliness and internet addiction levels in patients with acne vulgaris.” They aimed to assess the impacts of acne vulgaris and determine its correlation with depression, loneliness, and internet addiction levels among young female adults. Although the authors presented various adverse psychosocial effects of acne vulgaris among female adults, this study was limited by gender insensitivity, self-reports, and non-generalizability of the results.

. In this article, Oztekin C. and Oztekin A. mention that acne is a skin condition that affects most adolescents and young adults, thus causing low self-esteem and poor social interaction. As a result, most people suffering from acne often feel lonely and depressed. Studies also show that internet addiction is common among people with a lonely lifestyle. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the impact of acne vulgaris on depression, loneliness, and internet addiction among young female adults. The methods used involved conducting a quantitative study between June 2018 and March 2019 on 203 female participants diagnosed with acne. Measurements were taken to determine acne’s extent, excessive internet use, quality of life, loneliness, and depression. Data was collected through questionnaires and statistical analysis performed using Jamovi and R software. Results showed the severity of depression, loneliness, and internet addiction was higher in the acne vulgaris patients than in the control group. The severity of acne was mild in 106 patients and moderated in 97. A significant relationship was found between measures of quality of life and depression. Similarly, loneliness, internet addiction, and quality of life had a high correlation. About 101 patients had acne on the face, while 102 had acne both on the face and body. Oztekin C. and Oztekin A. showed that acne was significantly associated with loneliness, internet overuse, and depression. In conclusion, the authors pointed out that people with acne vulgaris have social and psychological challenges that may easily lead them to internet addiction.

Acne vulgaris disease has dramatically affected both adolescents and adults globally. In this study, Öztekin and Öztekin (2020) evaluate the severity and effects of acne vulgaris on depression, loneliness, and internet addiction. Although the article displayed significant results on the impact of acne vulgaris on depression, loneliness, and internet addiction among young female adults, there were limiting factors regarding the study samples, methods of data collection, and representation of the findings. The authors employed  203 acne, Vulgaris patients, and 202 healthy controls. The participants were admitted to the dermatology clinic of Hitt University. Although Öztekin and Öztekin (2020) involved a large study sample and revealed significant results on the effects of acne vulgaris, the subjects were gender-biased. For instance, the participants of this study were only female adults. According to Cislak et al. (2018), “findings pertinent to men may be irrelevant and, in the worst cases, harmful for women.”¹ Besides, the mean age bracket of the study sample was between 18 and 24 years. As such, this study’s findings could not be represented to the entire population of young adults, both male and female. The global acne grading system (GAGS) was used to assess the severity of acne vulgaris. However,  Öztekin and Öztekin (2020) used self-report scales, which hindered patients from disclosing their actual psychiatric diagnoses. Nguyen et al. (2014) argue that the self-report scale provides elicit information about patients.² Also, the study subjects were likely to offer exaggerated details or fail to reveal their exact conditions while filling in the data forms. As such, the patient’s data related to acne vulgaris eliminated baseline differences and the psychiatric effects caused by acne vulgaris. Therefore, the findings of this study could not be represented in the general population. This research had significant shortcomings related to the study sample employed, data collection methods, and representation of the results. Although this study involved a large population sample, only female adults participated—the use of questionnaires produced inaccurate information about the participants of this study. Therefore, this study’s findings could not be represented to the entire population, and it was impossible to relate the effects of acne vulgaris among male patients. Further studies should be initiated to determine dermatological and psychological symptoms of acne vulgaris patients, both male and female.

In conclusion, acne vulgaris is associated with loneliness, depression, and internet addiction. Still, some significant shortcomings such as gender biases, insufficient data collection methods, and non-representativeness of the findings are notable. Acne vulgaris patients are prone to depression, alcohol abuse, obesity, smoking, and suicide. Although no previous investigations had been done to assess the link between internet addiction and acne vulgaris, this study ascertains that acne patients are prone to internet addiction. Although this study involved a large population sample, only female adults participated; hence it was impossible to relate the findings to the male gender. Since the authors used self-report scales, patients were hindered from disclosing their actual psychiatric diagnoses. Although most adolescents suffer from mild acne vulgaris, its health-related and negative psychological impacts may last for a long time. To reduce the severity and hostile social relations among acne vulgaris patients, the health departments should educate the public on this infection’s preventive measures. Besides, acne vulgaris patients should be equipped with practical coping strategies for this infection.

References

1. Cislak A, Formanowicz M, Saguy T. Bias against research on gender bias. Scientometrics. 2018 Apr 1;115(1):189-200. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29527071/
2. Nguyen TM, Caze AL, Cottrell N. What are validated self‐report adherence scales measuring?: a systematic review. British journal of clinical pharmacology. 2014 Mar;77(3):427-45. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23803249/