ZEKİYE ÇELİKBAŞ, ATİYE AKBAYRAK
Journal of Cognitive-Behavioral Psychotherapy and Research - 2025;14(1):52-60
Patients with acne vulgaris frequently experience social appearance anxiety (SAA). We aimed to investigate the multiple mediating role of experiential avoidance (EA) and mindfulness between cognitive fusion (CF) and SAA in these patients. This study adopted a cross-sectional design and included patients with acne vulgaris (n=90) and healthy controls (n=90). The Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II), Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire (CFQ), Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire-Short Form (FFMQ-SF), and Social Appearance Anxiety Scale (SAAS) were used as assessment tools. Independent groups t-test, Pearson’s correlation analysis, and the bootstrapping method were employed for analysis. The level of psychological flexibility was lower than healthy controls. The SAAS score exhibited a positive and significant correlation with the CFQ and AAQ-II scores and a negative and significant correlation with FFMQ-SF act with awareness, observe, describe, nonjudging of inner experience, and nonreactivity to the internal experience scores in individuals with acne vulgaris. In the mediation analysis, mindfulness (β=0.219, SH=0.076, 95% GA [0.126, 0.426]) and EA (β=0.248, SH=0.111, 95% GA [0.094, 0.531]) play a full mediating role relating CF with SAA in this group. The results indicate that mindfulness and EA play a full mediating role between SAA and CF.
