The relationship between self-concept, self-esteem and perfectionism with the severity of acne in adolescents

Acne is one of the most common skin diseases that affect nearly 85% of people in different periods of life. It can affect various individual and social aspects of personality, including self-concept, self-esteem and perfectionism. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between self-concept, self-esteem and perfectionism with acne severity in adolescents.
This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out on junior high school and high school students in Jolfa city, western part of Iran (2013). In this study, 200 adolescents with acne were selected through purposeful method of sampling. The instrument used in the study included Saraswot self-concept questionnaire (1984), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Questionnaire (1965), and Hewet and Felt Multidimensional Perfectionism (1991). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and regression analysis.
The findings of the study showed that self-concept and self-esteem had a significant negative relationship with acne severity (r= -0.36, r= -0.83, P≤0.01 respectively). On the other hand, perfectionism has a significant positive relationship with the severity of acne (r= 0.58, P≤0.01). Also, the results showed that in predicting the severity of acne, self-esteem plays a very important role (β= -0.75, P≤0.01).
According to the findings of the study, adolescents are vulnerable to the psychosocial effects of acne. On this basis, considering mental health care along with medical treatment is necessary in acne treatment.