Influence of Mothers’ Experiences with Atopic Dermatitis on Their Children’s Skin Care Practices in the Japanese Cultural Context: Habit Formation and Intergenerational Transmission

The study aimed to compare mothers’ and children’s cleansing, moisturisation, and photoprotection practices between mothers with and without atopic dermatitis (AD) and explore how maternal AD experiences may be reflected in children’s skin care habit formation. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six mothers with AD and seven healthy controls (HC). Verbatim transcripts were analysed using a structured descriptive qualitative approach, supplemented by text mining. Childhood moisturisation was more frequently reported by mothers in the AD group than by HC mothers. Mothers in both groups moisturised their children from infancy; however, sustained whole-body moisturisation beyond school age was more evident in the AD group. Mothers with AD regarded moisturisation as necessary for symptom prevention and management, whereas HC mothers initiated it based primarily on parenting information. The AD group emphasised gentle, low-irritation cleansing; similar practices were reported for their children. Year-round photoprotection was not established among children in either group. Accessible product placement and parental encouragement facilitated habit formation, whereas stickiness, inconvenience, reapplication burden, and school restrictions inhibited continuation. These findings suggest that maternal AD experiences may be reflected in the development and maintenance of children’s skin care practices. Larger quantitative and prospective studies are needed to test these hypotheses.