Coping with acne: beliefs and perceptions in a sample of secondary school Greek pupils

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Information on the understanding of acne in adolescents has only occasionally been reported in the medical literature. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the perceptions of Greek high school students regarding acne causation, exacerbating factors, sources of information, and effect on their daily life and school performance. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Three-hundred and forty-seven students (aged 13-18) of four Athenian high schools completed a self-reported questionnaire. RESULTS: Self-reported acne was present in 59.2% (187/316). Popular sources of information were parents (31.6%), dermatologists (26.7%), magazines and television (17.5%), pharmacists (16.2%), friends (5.3%), beauticians (1.6%) and other doctors (1.1%). Fifty-two per cent considered the information received as inadequate. Reported causal or exacerbating acne factors included: diet (62.3%), hormones (55.1%), poor hygiene (42.4%), stress (31.9%), infection (14.9%) and genetics (5.7%). Reported ameliorating factors included frequent washing (80.7%), sunbathing (38.6%) and adequate hours of sleep (32%). These notions did not differ among pupils with and without acne or among pupils receiving information from different sources (P < 0.05 in all comparisons). Smoking habits, school performance, hours of sleep, sleep disturbances and self-assessment of stress status were not statistically significantly different between pupils with and without acne. Among pupils with acne 48.6% believed that acne was compromising interpersonal relations while 64.4% believed that acne was compromising their self-image. Fifteen per cent of adolescents reported pruritus associated with their acne lesions. CONCLUSION: Beliefs of Greek adolescents about acne were shown to be similar to those of pupils in other developed countries.