Sex Roles

, Volume 61, Issue 3–4, pp 158–166 | Cite as

Correlates of Young Women’s Interest in Obtaining Cosmetic Surgery

Original Article
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Abstract

This study examined predictors of young women’s interest in obtaining cosmetic surgery. The sample investigated was comprised of 101 college undergraduates residing in the northeastern U.S. (M age = 19.99, SD = 4.79). Participants’ weight status (M BMI = 24.52, SD = 5.69), body dissatisfaction, internalization of media messages, reports of physical appearance teasing, and interest in obtaining cosmetic surgery were assessed. Results indicated that all of the predictors examined were correlated with women’s interest in cosmetic surgery. Further, body dissatisfaction mediated the relations between weight status, internalization of media messages, reports of teasing, and women’s interest in cosmetic surgery. Findings are discussed in terms of the importance of understanding cosmetic surgery trends and young women’s susceptibility to body dissatisfaction.

Keywords

Cosmetic surgery Body image Body dissatisfaction Media influence Physical appearance teasing 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the many research assistants who contributed to this study, particularly, Diane Smith, Stephen Bernardini, Lauren Diessler, Amy Belinsky, Rachel McCartney, and Tanya Fiedler. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to the first author at the Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, 311 North 5th Street, Camden, NJ 08102.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2009

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Rutgers UniversityCamdenUSA
  2. 2.Villanova UniversityVillanovaUSA

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