Development of the SkinCARE Questionnaire: Measuring the impact of skin issues on psychological wellbeing in healthy populations

Abstract

Background: In recent years, the psychological dimension of skin health has attracted increasing research interest, with established skin-related wellbeing metrics providing valuable insights for various conditions in clinical dermatology. This growing focus underscores the importance of developing sensitive, well-validated tools to better understand the emotional impact of skin health and appearance in healthy populations. The present article details the development and validation of such a metric, the SkinCARE Questionnaire (Condition and Affective Response Evaluation), and its relation to self-reported psychological stress and sleep health. Method: 1184 participants (African American: n = 396, Hispanic: n = 392, Caucasian: n = 396; 886 females) completed the SkinCARE questionnaire, Sleep Health Index (SHI) and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). The SkinCARE data was randomly divided into two equal samples for analysis: Sample 1 for exploratory factor analysis and Sample 2 for confirmatory factor analysis. Results: Exploratory factor analysis supported a 24-item three-factor solution. Factor 1, Skin Social Impact, comprised 16 items that related primarily to how skin health impacted relationships with others and daily functioning. Factor 2, Skin Reactivity, comprised a further six items related to product reactions and skin breakouts. Factor 3, General Confidence, comprised a final 2 items. The three-factor structure was supported by confirmatory factor analysis. Further analysis demonstrated positive associations between good skin wellbeing, good quality sleep and low levels of stress. Conclusion: The present scale is the first validated instrument designed to specifically measure the impact of skin health on emotional wellbeing in healthy populations. These data confirm the association between skin health and psychological wellbeing, and also a link to psychological wellbeing indicators. Future research should leverage the SkinCARE Questionnaire to examine and describe the effects of cosmetic skincare products on wellbeing.