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Looking good: factors affecting the likelihood of having cosmetic surgery

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Abstract

The present study examined various factors associated with the likelihood of having cosmetic surgery in a community sample of Austrian participants. One-hundred and sixty-eight women and 151 men completed a questionnaire measuring how likely they were to consider common cosmetic procedures. The results showed that women were more likely than men to consider most cosmetic procedures. Path analysis revealed that personal experience of having had cosmetic surgery was a significant predictor of future likelihood, while media exposure (viewing advertisements or television programs, or reading articles about cosmetic surgery) mediated the influence of vicarious experience and sex. These results are discussed in relation to previous work examining the factors associated with the likelihood of having cosmetic surgery.

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Acknowledgements

Tanja Haubner is supported by a Young Researcher Mini Grant from the Dean’s Office, School of Psychology, University of Vienna.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Westminster, 309 Regent Street, London, UK

    Viren Swami

  2. Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths College, University of London, London, UK

    Adriane Arteche & Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic

  3. Department of Psychology, University College London, London, UK

    Adrian Furnham

  4. Core Unit for Medical Education, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Stefan Stieger

  5. Department of Basic Psychological Research, School of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Tanja Haubner & Martin Voracek

Authors
  1. Viren Swami
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  2. Adriane Arteche
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  3. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic
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  4. Adrian Furnham
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  5. Stefan Stieger
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  6. Tanja Haubner
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  7. Martin Voracek
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Correspondence to Viren Swami.

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Swami, V., Arteche, A., Chamorro-Premuzic, T. et al. Looking good: factors affecting the likelihood of having cosmetic surgery. Eur J Plast Surg 30, 211–218 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00238-007-0185-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00238-007-0185-z

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