ABSTRACT
Introduction: Menstrual Stigma starts at a very young age and is reinforced by the media, leading to people with vaginas to view it in a negative light and often experience immense guilt and anxiety related to it. On top of this, the sexism they are exposed to takes a toll on their self-esteem and mental health. The aim of the study was to establish a relationship between Attitude towards Menstruation, Self-esteem and Social Appearance Anxiety among young Indian cis-gendered women who menstruate. Method: The study had one predictive variable, Attitudes towards Menstruation, which was measured using the Attitude towards Menstruation Scale. The study had two outcome variables namely, Self-esteem which was measured using the State Self-esteem Scale; and Social Appearance Anxiety, which was measured using Social Appearance Anxiety Scale. The data was collected from 121 young cis-gendered women who could menstruate and resided in Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai. The data was analyzed using two regression analyses on the predictive variable and outcome variables; and one Pearson’s correlation between the outcome variables. Result: There seems to be no relationship between the predictive and outcome variables. Attitude towards menstruation seems to be affected by several factors such as menstrual experience, level of discrimination, social support received and diagnosis of menstrual ailments. There seems to be a negative relationship between self-esteem and social appearance anxiety. Conclusion: This finding highlights a potential for therapeutic and psychoeducation interventions development for the masses.
ABSTRACT
Objective:To analyze the relationship between physical appearance perfectionism, negative body self, fear of negative evaluation and social appearance anxiety in female patients with psoriasis.Methods:A total of 251 female patients with psoriasis in Xinhua Hospital Affiliated to Medical College of Shanghai Jiaotong University from June 2019 to June 2020 were selected as the subjects. Physical Appearance Perfectionism Scale (PPAS), Social Appearance Anxiety Scale (SAAS), Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (BFNES) and Negetive Physical Self Scale (Npss) were used in the survey. The correlation of negative body self and negative evaluation fear between the appearance perfectionism and social appearance anxiety of female psoriasis patients was analyzed.Results:The score of physical appearance perfectionism was 49.42±5.32, the score of social appearance anxiety was 58.72±6.24, the score of fear of negative evaluation was 30.59±7.21 and the score of negative physical self was 29.21±6.24. Pearson correlation analysis showed that there was a significant positive correlation among physical appearance perfectionism, social appearance anxiety, fear of negative evaluation and negative physical self ( r value was 0.402-0.488, P<0.01). The mediating effect of negative physical self between physical appearance perfectionism and social appearance anxiety was 0.164 (95% CI 0.082-0.227), the mediating effect of negative body self between physical appearance perfectionism and social appearance anxiety was 0.152 (95% CI 0.079-0.214) and the chain mediating effect of fear of negative evaluation and negative physical self was 0.067 (95% CI 0.025-0.108). Conclusions:Female patients with psoriasis have a high level of physical appearance perfectionism, which can directly affect their social anxiety, while fear of negative evaluation and negative physical self indirectly affect the correlation between appearance perfectionism and social appearance anxiety. Psychological intervention measures should be taken to reduce their psychological burden on their own appearance defects and carry out social anxiety and fear.