TITLE:
Body Image and Personality in Aesthetic Plastic Surgery: A Case-Control Study
AUTHORS:
Valentina Elisabetta Di Mattei, Elena Pagani Bagliacca, Luca Lavezzari, Rossella Di Pierro, Letizia Carnelli, Paola Zucchi, Franz Baruffaldi Preis, Lucio Sarno
KEYWORDS:
Body Image Dissatisfaction, Plastic Surgery, Personality Disorders, Mass Media
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Medical Psychology,
Vol.4 No.2,
April
7,
2015
ABSTRACT: Introduction:
The amount of research on the relationship between plastic surgery and psychological
features, such as personality disorders and indexes of body image dissatisfaction,
has increased significantly in the last years. Aim: The aim of the present study
was to examine these psychological features among Italian patients who underwent
aesthetic plastic surgery, testing the mediating role of the mass media influence
on the relationship between them and the choice of aesthetic plastic surgery. The
Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire 4+ (PDQ-4+) and the Body Uneasiness Test (BUT)
were administered to patients who underwent aesthetic plastic surgery (N = 111)
and participants who had no history of aesthetic plastic surgical procedures (N
= 149). Results: Results showed that aesthetic patients reported higher indexes
of body image disturbance than controls. No significant differences between aesthetic
participants and controls were found in all three cluster B personality disorders.
Moreover, the effect of body image dissatisfaction on the choice to undergo aesthetic
plastic surgery was partially mediated by the influence of mass media. Conclusions:
In conclusion, the present study confirmed the importance of body dissatisfaction
as a predictor of the choice to undergo aesthetic surgery and highlighted the influence
of media messages regarding physical appearance.