Reasons for Preventing Us to Get More Attractive: the Fear of Aesthetic Surgery

Mona Leitermann; Klaus Hoffmann; Erich Kasten

doi:doi:10.11648/j.hss.20160404.11

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Reasons for Preventing Us to Get More Attractive: the Fear of Aesthetic Surgery

Mona Leitermann, Klaus Hoffmann, Erich Kasten

Published in Humanities and Social Sciences (Volume 4, Issue 4)

Received: 25 April 2016 Accepted: 25 May 2016 Published: 30 June 2016

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Abstract

Nowadays, with the help of cosmetic surgery almost every woman and man can achieve a highly attractive appearance. But many people do not take advantage of these opportunities. Task: This pilot-study investigates individual attitudes of people towards aesthetic plastic surgery and analyzes factors which may play a role in the development of a decision for or against aesthetic surgery. This study emphasizes different aspects of people, who are unsatisfied with their body appearance, to decide for or against a cosmetic surgery. Especially individual fears of complications or pain and possible negative consequences were investigated. Furthermore, the influence of the personal trait extraversion/introversion and the educational level of the participants were analyzed. In addition, this survey evaluated gender-specific differences towards plastic surgery and research differences with regard to costs of a “beauty surgery”. Methods: A questionnaire was developed which combined self-developed items for a measurement of attitudes towards plastic surgery. In addition, items of the “Freiburger Personality Inventory” (FPI-R) were used. The study was conducted in Hamburg/Germany. 104 test persons participated in the survey (81 females, 23 males, age 20 – 30 y.). 86 of the participants (82.7%) had an A-level as degree of education, 14.4% achieved the secondary school certificate and 2.9% had completed their bachelor on a high school. Results: The data supported the hypothesis that people who are unsatisfied with their body appearance showed more willingness for a surgical intervention. On the other hand fear of complications and pain as far as anxiety before an unsatisfactory result hinders them from a decision for an intervention. Significant correlations with regard to extraversion-introversion and the education level were not found. Females showed more willingness regarding an intervention than men. Gender-specific differences concerning the cost factor were not found. Conclusion: Interestingly, more than 65% of the total sample (n=104) felt a dissatisfaction with a specific body part and are thus target of aesthetic surgery. The yellow press often reports about failed cosmetic surgery, especially in VIP-persons. Aesthetic surgery should keep working to reduce unwarranted fears of people toward these kinds of operations.

Published in	Humanities and Social Sciences (Volume 4, Issue 4)
DOI	10.11648/j.hss.20160404.11
Page(s)	83-89
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2016. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Plastic Surgery, Operation, Attractiveness, Intervention for Beauty, Cosmetic Intervention

References

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Mona Leitermann, Klaus Hoffmann, Erich Kasten. (2016). Reasons for Preventing Us to Get More Attractive: the Fear of Aesthetic Surgery. Humanities and Social Sciences, 4(4), 83-89. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20160404.11

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Mona Leitermann; Klaus Hoffmann; Erich Kasten. Reasons for Preventing Us to Get More Attractive: the Fear of Aesthetic Surgery. Humanit. Soc. Sci. 2016, 4(4), 83-89. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20160404.11

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Mona Leitermann, Klaus Hoffmann, Erich Kasten. Reasons for Preventing Us to Get More Attractive: the Fear of Aesthetic Surgery. Humanit Soc Sci. 2016;4(4):83-89. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20160404.11

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@article{10.11648/j.hss.20160404.11,
  author = {Mona Leitermann and Klaus Hoffmann and Erich Kasten},
  title = {Reasons for Preventing Us to Get More Attractive: the Fear of Aesthetic Surgery},
  journal = {Humanities and Social Sciences},
  volume = {4},
  number = {4},
  pages = {83-89},
  doi = {10.11648/j.hss.20160404.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20160404.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.hss.20160404.11},
  abstract = {Nowadays, with the help of cosmetic surgery almost every woman and man can achieve a highly attractive appearance. But many people do not take advantage of these opportunities. Task: This pilot-study investigates individual attitudes of people towards aesthetic plastic surgery and analyzes factors which may play a role in the development of a decision for or against aesthetic surgery. This study emphasizes different aspects of people, who are unsatisfied with their body appearance, to decide for or against a cosmetic surgery. Especially individual fears of complications or pain and possible negative consequences were investigated. Furthermore, the influence of the personal trait extraversion/introversion and the educational level of the participants were analyzed. In addition, this survey evaluated gender-specific differences towards plastic surgery and research differences with regard to costs of a “beauty surgery”. Methods: A questionnaire was developed which combined self-developed items for a measurement of attitudes towards plastic surgery. In addition, items of the “Freiburger Personality Inventory” (FPI-R) were used. The study was conducted in Hamburg/Germany. 104 test persons participated in the survey (81 females, 23 males, age 20 – 30 y.). 86 of the participants (82.7%) had an A-level as degree of education, 14.4% achieved the secondary school certificate and 2.9% had completed their bachelor on a high school. Results: The data supported the hypothesis that people who are unsatisfied with their body appearance showed more willingness for a surgical intervention. On the other hand fear of complications and pain as far as anxiety before an unsatisfactory result hinders them from a decision for an intervention. Significant correlations with regard to extraversion-introversion and the education level were not found. Females showed more willingness regarding an intervention than men. Gender-specific differences concerning the cost factor were not found. Conclusion: Interestingly, more than 65% of the total sample (n=104) felt a dissatisfaction with a specific body part and are thus target of aesthetic surgery. The yellow press often reports about failed cosmetic surgery, especially in VIP-persons. Aesthetic surgery should keep working to reduce unwarranted fears of people toward these kinds of operations.},
 year = {2016}
}

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TY - JOUR
T1 - Reasons for Preventing Us to Get More Attractive: the Fear of Aesthetic Surgery
AU - Mona Leitermann
AU - Klaus Hoffmann
AU - Erich Kasten
Y1 - 2016/06/30
PY - 2016
N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20160404.11
DO - 10.11648/j.hss.20160404.11
T2 - Humanities and Social Sciences
JF - Humanities and Social Sciences
JO - Humanities and Social Sciences
SP - 83
EP - 89
PB - Science Publishing Group
SN - 2330-8184
UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20160404.11
AB - Nowadays, with the help of cosmetic surgery almost every woman and man can achieve a highly attractive appearance. But many people do not take advantage of these opportunities. Task: This pilot-study investigates individual attitudes of people towards aesthetic plastic surgery and analyzes factors which may play a role in the development of a decision for or against aesthetic surgery. This study emphasizes different aspects of people, who are unsatisfied with their body appearance, to decide for or against a cosmetic surgery. Especially individual fears of complications or pain and possible negative consequences were investigated. Furthermore, the influence of the personal trait extraversion/introversion and the educational level of the participants were analyzed. In addition, this survey evaluated gender-specific differences towards plastic surgery and research differences with regard to costs of a “beauty surgery”. Methods: A questionnaire was developed which combined self-developed items for a measurement of attitudes towards plastic surgery. In addition, items of the “Freiburger Personality Inventory” (FPI-R) were used. The study was conducted in Hamburg/Germany. 104 test persons participated in the survey (81 females, 23 males, age 20 – 30 y.). 86 of the participants (82.7%) had an A-level as degree of education, 14.4% achieved the secondary school certificate and 2.9% had completed their bachelor on a high school. Results: The data supported the hypothesis that people who are unsatisfied with their body appearance showed more willingness for a surgical intervention. On the other hand fear of complications and pain as far as anxiety before an unsatisfactory result hinders them from a decision for an intervention. Significant correlations with regard to extraversion-introversion and the education level were not found. Females showed more willingness regarding an intervention than men. Gender-specific differences concerning the cost factor were not found. Conclusion: Interestingly, more than 65% of the total sample (n=104) felt a dissatisfaction with a specific body part and are thus target of aesthetic surgery. The yellow press often reports about failed cosmetic surgery, especially in VIP-persons. Aesthetic surgery should keep working to reduce unwarranted fears of people toward these kinds of operations.
VL - 4
IS - 4
ER -

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Author Information

Mona Leitermann

Medical School Hamburg, University of Applied Sciences, Hamburg, Germany
Klaus Hoffmann

Klinik für Dermatologie und Allergologie der Ruhr Universit?t Bochum, Bochum, Germany
Erich Kasten

Dept. of Neuropsychology, Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

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Mona Leitermann, Klaus Hoffmann, Erich Kasten. (2016). Reasons for Preventing Us to Get More Attractive: the Fear of Aesthetic Surgery. Humanities and Social Sciences, 4(4), 83-89. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20160404.11

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Mona Leitermann; Klaus Hoffmann; Erich Kasten. Reasons for Preventing Us to Get More Attractive: the Fear of Aesthetic Surgery. Humanit. Soc. Sci. 2016, 4(4), 83-89. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20160404.11

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AMA Style

Mona Leitermann, Klaus Hoffmann, Erich Kasten. Reasons for Preventing Us to Get More Attractive: the Fear of Aesthetic Surgery. Humanit Soc Sci. 2016;4(4):83-89. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20160404.11

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@article{10.11648/j.hss.20160404.11,
  author = {Mona Leitermann and Klaus Hoffmann and Erich Kasten},
  title = {Reasons for Preventing Us to Get More Attractive: the Fear of Aesthetic Surgery},
  journal = {Humanities and Social Sciences},
  volume = {4},
  number = {4},
  pages = {83-89},
  doi = {10.11648/j.hss.20160404.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20160404.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.hss.20160404.11},
  abstract = {Nowadays, with the help of cosmetic surgery almost every woman and man can achieve a highly attractive appearance. But many people do not take advantage of these opportunities. Task: This pilot-study investigates individual attitudes of people towards aesthetic plastic surgery and analyzes factors which may play a role in the development of a decision for or against aesthetic surgery. This study emphasizes different aspects of people, who are unsatisfied with their body appearance, to decide for or against a cosmetic surgery. Especially individual fears of complications or pain and possible negative consequences were investigated. Furthermore, the influence of the personal trait extraversion/introversion and the educational level of the participants were analyzed. In addition, this survey evaluated gender-specific differences towards plastic surgery and research differences with regard to costs of a “beauty surgery”. Methods: A questionnaire was developed which combined self-developed items for a measurement of attitudes towards plastic surgery. In addition, items of the “Freiburger Personality Inventory” (FPI-R) were used. The study was conducted in Hamburg/Germany. 104 test persons participated in the survey (81 females, 23 males, age 20 – 30 y.). 86 of the participants (82.7%) had an A-level as degree of education, 14.4% achieved the secondary school certificate and 2.9% had completed their bachelor on a high school. Results: The data supported the hypothesis that people who are unsatisfied with their body appearance showed more willingness for a surgical intervention. On the other hand fear of complications and pain as far as anxiety before an unsatisfactory result hinders them from a decision for an intervention. Significant correlations with regard to extraversion-introversion and the education level were not found. Females showed more willingness regarding an intervention than men. Gender-specific differences concerning the cost factor were not found. Conclusion: Interestingly, more than 65% of the total sample (n=104) felt a dissatisfaction with a specific body part and are thus target of aesthetic surgery. The yellow press often reports about failed cosmetic surgery, especially in VIP-persons. Aesthetic surgery should keep working to reduce unwarranted fears of people toward these kinds of operations.},
 year = {2016}
}

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