Punch ForTeen Girls Acne Affects Teens More Than Moms Think APSA)—Frustration with is nothing new. And it may nou be a surprise to find that teenage girls take it significantly harder than teenage boys. However, a new study by Clearasil shows teenage girls are twice as moms aren’t as sensitive to teens’ acnefrustrationsas they think. “Teenage girls have historically been more aware of blemishes to their skin,” says Dr. Mary Gail Mercurio, an assistant professor of dermatology at the University of Rochester Medical Center. “Societal pressures makeit harder for a girl to deal with and accept pimples and other natural imperfections of the skin.” Survey results support that notion, revealing that teenage girls are more self-conscious about their appearance than teenage boys (52 percent vs. 37 percent) and are more likely to be embarrassed when they have acne (45 percent vs. 33 percent). Negative feelings about acne are more common among teenage girls than among teenage boys. Most notably, acne makes 73 percent of teenage girls feel unattrac- tive, while only 60 percent of teenage boys feel this way. The corollary to this is that teenage girls are more likely than teenage boys to feel attractive (57 percent vs. 41 percent) and confident (48 percent vs. 39 percent) when they have clear skin. What momsdon’t know... The survey also revealed that moms may not be aware of how strongly their teens feel about social situations and physical appearance whenit comesto acne. Moms mayalso be unawareofthe amountofridicule that occurs due to acne. Only 14 percent of moms surveyed say that their teen has been the subject of ridicule because of acne when 35 percent YEE oeoea offs peoo J likely to be miserable (19 percent vs. 8 percent) because of acne, and more likely to shine when their skin is fine (57 percent vs. 41 percent). The survey also revealed (We y at,|m3 ; oy @ of teen respondents say they have been. Moms may also be unaware of how often their teen has ridiculed a friend because of acne (7 percent vs. 14 percent). “Parents need to be supportive of their children as they go through these stages of life,” says Dr. Mercurio. “Parents should try to remember what it was like to be a teenager. They may remem- ber acne as being fairly easy to deal with, even though it most likely wasn’t. There is a sensitivity parents need to possess that puts them in their teen’s shoes.” Other survey findings show teens are more self-conscious about their appearance than moms believe (44 percent vs. 35 percent). And more often than moms know, teens are embarrassed (39 percent vs. 24 percent) or frustrated with their appearance (28 percent vs. 21 percent) when they have acne. NFO WorldGroup conducted the Clearasil survey on how acne affects teens emotionally in June 2001. The survey results are based on responses from 500 teenage girls, 500 teenage boys and 500 mothersof teens. Clearasil, owned by Boots Healthcare USA (BH-USA), is sold in more than 50 countries and is one of the best selling brands of acne treatment and prevention in eight countries: U.S., Germany, U.K., France, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium and Austria.
