Body image dissatisfaction, temperament traits, and self-esteem in patients with multiple minimally invasive cosmetic procedures

Abstract

© 2019, Serbia Medical Society. All rights reserved. Introduction/Objective The development of safer cosmetic medical procedures has lead to an increase in the number of minimally invasive esthetic procedures. The main aim of the current paper is to examine the connection of the number/location of esthetic procedures with the overall body image dissatisfaction, affective temperament traits, and the index of self-esteem in persons who have undergone several minimally invasive cosmetic procedures for esthetic reasons. The subsidiary aim is to compare the predominance of the above-mentioned traits in the sample with the results in the general population. Methods The study included 228 participants, aged from 21 to 73 years, who had multiple minimally invasive cosmetic procedures, purely for esthetic reasons. Data were collected using a socio-demographic questionnaire, medical documentation, the Body Image Assessment Scale-Body Dimensions, TEMPS-A temperament scale, and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Results Overall body image dissatisfaction was moderate in our patients (11.56 ± 11.877). With an increase of dissatisfaction, the number of procedures did not grow (r = 0.075, p = 0.263); however, the number of body parts on which the procedures had been performed did. The patients who had their body parts altered most were found to have deeper dissatisfaction with their overall body image (F(2,225) = 4.963, p = 0.008, η 2 = 0.04), and the most prominent temperament was wound to be hyper-thymic (F(2,225) = 3.408, p = 0.035, η 2 = 0.03), similar to the Serbian general population. Conclusion Through establishing potential relations between physical, social, and psychological variables, like body image dissatisfaction, temperament, and self-esteem, we could provide a better insight into a mental state of individuals who frequently undergo minimally invasive cosmetic procedures.