Turkish Journal of Plastic Surgery (Jan 2021)

Investigation of the relationship between university students social appearance anxiety and their attitudes towards aesthetic surgery

  • Emine Onalan,
  • Sibel Yilmaz Sahin,
  • Emine Iyigun

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4103/tjps.tjps_62_20
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 29, no. 2
pp. 116 – 120

Abstract

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Introduction and Purpose: The aim of this study is to investigate the factors affecting University students' attitudes toward aesthetic surgery. Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was carried out in the spring semester of the 2018-2019 academic year with the students of the nursing Karabuk University. A form determining the sociodemographic characteristics of the students, the Cosmetic Surgery Acceptance Scale, and the Social Appearance Anxiety Scale were used to collect the study data. Results: The mean age of the students participating in the study was 21 ± 1.9 years, the mean body mass index was 22.54 ± 3.8, 72.5% were female, and 97.2% were single. The mean scores of the students obtained from the Cosmetic Surgery Acceptance Scale and Social Appearance Anxiety Scale were 45.73 ± 17.68, 34.85 ± 10.05, respectively. A significant relationship was determined between the mean of the Cosmetic Surgery Acceptance Scale and the ages of the students (P < 0.0001). In addition, there was a positive and strong relationship between the mean scores of the sub-dimensions of the Cosmetic Surgery Acceptance Scale (personal, social, and intellectual levels) and the mean score of the Social Appearance Anxiety Scale (P < 0.0001). Conclusion: In this study, it was determined that age and social appearance anxiety among university students are the factors that increase the possibility of opting for aesthetic surgery. Before aesthetic surgery interventions, determining psychological factors such as aging anxiety and social appearance anxiety that affect attitude toward aesthetic surgery in psychosocial evaluations and integrating the necessary interventions into nursing care will be beneficial in evaluating the suitability of patients for surgical intervention more accurately, applying more qualified nursing care, and increasing patient satisfaction.

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