ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Med.
Sec. Dermatology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1634437
Psychosocial Aspects of Rosacea: Patient-Reported Coping Strategies in Saudi Arabia
Provisionally accepted
Faten Albukhari*Kayan Alotaibi*
Ebtesam Almajed*Wijdan A AlmutiriNuwayyir Abdullah Alqasimi
Nouf Abdullah Alzahrani*
Hayat Alzahrani- Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Background: Rosacea is a chronic inflammatory skin condition that negatively impacts patients' psychological well-being. Coping strategies can influence disease adaptation and psychosocial outcomes. However, little is known about how rosacea patients in Saudi Arabia cope with the burden of this disease. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a structured tool that combined clinical assessments with the Arabic version of the Brief COPE. Participants were recruited through dermatology clinics and online platforms. Coping strategies were categorized into three domains: problem-focused, emotion-focused, and avoidant. Statistical analyses included correlation tests and post-hoc clustering. Results: 176 participants (mean age: 28.8 ± 8.25 years; 79.5% female) completed the survey. Problem-focused coping had the highest mean score (68.48), followed by emotion-focused (60.98) and avoidant strategy (49.01). Maladaptive strategies, such as substance use and behavioral disengagement, were the least adopted. Significant positive correlations were observed between disease duration and all three coping styles, with the strongest correlation found for the emotionalfocused coping strategy (r = 0.323, P < 0.001). Higher rosacea severity was positively associated with a longer disease duration (r = 0.317, P < 0.001). Higher education as well as employment status were correlated with greater use of adaptive strategies, while students scored the lowest across all domains. Conclusions: Rosacea patients in Saudi Arabia predominantly use constructive, culturally grounded coping strategies, with religion playing a crucial role. Sociodemographic factors such as education and employment significantly influence coping profiles. In light of these findings, it is essential to develop culturally sensitive interventions that promote adaptive coping and integrate social and spiritual support.
Keywords: Rosacea, coping strategies, Brief-COPE, Saudi Arabia, problem-focused coping
Received: 24 May 2025; Accepted: 25 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Albukhari, Alotaibi, Almajed, Almutiri, Alqasimi, Alzahrani and Alzahrani. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Faten Albukhari, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Kayan Alotaibi, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Ebtesam Almajed, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Nouf Abdullah Alzahrani, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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