SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC DIFFERENCES IN INTEREST IN ONE’S LOOKS

Abstract

Objectives. It is important to study the interest in one’s appearance because it may influence on health status and social functioning. The objectives of this study were to be determined the degree of manifested interest in one’s appearance and the impact of sociodemographic variables on the interest in one’s appearance. Material and methods. A self-report scale was constructed by using seven items of a questionnaire focused on narcissism, because narcissism expresses an excessive interest in oneself and one's physical appearance. This scale measuring the interest in one’s appearance had good psychometric properties among 528 participants. Results. Medium/moderate interest in one’s appearance prevailed, followed by low interest, and then high interest in one’s appearance. Extremely low interest in one’s appearance was very rare. None participant manifested extremely high interest in one’s appearance. The family status and age differentiated the answers on some items of the scale (p < .05). The interest in one’s appearance slightly diminished in the cases of more own children, a longer period of work experience, and among the male participants (p < .05). Conclusions. The people in the social roles of female, youth, recent worker, or a beloved seem to express stronger interest in one’s appearance that may be followed by behaviour directed to maintenance of a positive body image and attractiveness to others. The most vulnerable social-demographic groups for neglecting the care of one’s overall outlook by reason of extremely low interest in one’s appearance seemed to be the workers with very long work experience, and more advanced in age.

Keywords

• appearance
• attitude
• gender
• interest
• need