[Comparison of psychopathology in people seeking cosmetic surgery with controls]

ABSTRACT

Appearance is an important part of individual identity and social situations; thus, the importance of this personality structure is very obvious. This study compared psychological disorders in applicants of cosmetic surgery with controls. Applicants of cosmetic surgery were 62 patients who were selected using convenience sampling; 62 controls were selected among the relatives of the cases and were matched for age, gender, and education level. The applicants of cosmetic surgery were those who were visited in cosmetic surgery centers of Urmia during a three months period. Data were collected through SCL-90-R questionnaire. The results were analyzed by software SPSS 16; using descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis of variance [MANOVA]. Among nine dimensions of psychological disorders, applicants of cosmetic surgery and controls had significant differences in all aspects except in paranoia and psychosis. Based on this study, applicants of cosmetic surgery have significant vulnerability in psychological aspects