The Social Impact of Acne

“There is no single disease which causes more psychic trauma, more maladjustment between parents and children, more general insecurity and feelings of inferiority and greater sums of psychic suffering than does acne vulgaris.” –Sulzberger & Zaldems, 1948

While known for quite some time, the psychosocial effects of acne have not been fully appreciated until recently. The reasons for this are many. After all, everyone gets acne to one degree or another. In most cases, it goes away on its own. While it’s running its course, it is not a serious threat to anyone’s overall physical health. In addition, until the last couple of decades, there was very little anyone could do to treat it.

Acne, nonetheless, has a significant impact on a person’s outlook on life. Recent studies have detected the following as common among people with acne:

Social withdrawal
Decreased self-esteem
Reduced self-confidence
Poor body image
Embarrassment
Feelings of depression
Anger
Preoccupation
Frustration
Higher rate of unemployment
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