They may strike back at society in a vengeful manner : preventing the psychological scars of acne in post-war America

Ferguson, Iain; Kritsotaki, Despo and Long, Vicky and Smith, Matthew, eds. (2018) They may strike back at society in a vengeful manner : preventing the psychological scars of acne in post-war America. In: Preventing Mental Illness. Mental Health in Historical Perspective . Palgrave Macmillan Ltd., London, pp. 61-85. ISBN 9783319986999 (https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98699-9_3)

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Abstract

In 2013, San Diego based physician Dr Richard M. Timms published a study entitled: “Moderate acne as a potential barrier to social relationships: Myth or reality”. Timms divided his 143 participants into two groups: one set were shown pictures of clear skinned models whilst the other was shown photographs of models with facial acne. Asked to guess the age of the models and rate them on a scale of sixteen personality items, the volunteers shown the clear skinned models believed them to be both older and more mature than the models suffering from acne. Moreover, the participants claimed they were more likely to be friends with and attracted to those with clear skin. Timms concluded that ‘moderate acne vulgaris could be a potential barrier to social relationships for young people not simply because of their social anxiety but because they may well be meeting with prejudice’.

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