An Evaluation of the Body Image, Self-Esteem and Temperament Features in Persons with Tattoos and Piercings: A Controlled Study

Objective: In this study, we aimed to investigate the body image, self-esteem and temperament features in persons with tattoos and piercings. Material and Methods: Twenty-five consecutive customers of a tattoo and piercing center and 25 consecutive customers of a hairdresser (as the control group) were enrolled in the study. The Body Cathexis Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, TEMPS-A Autoquestionnaire, and General Health Questionnaire were administered. The Kuder-Richardson 21, Cronbach's alpha internal consistency coefficient, Shapiro-Wilk test, Student's t test, Mann-Whitney U test, chi-square test, and Fisher's exact test were used for statistical analysis. Results: The people who had tattoos and piercings done had significantly lower (p = 0.033) scores compared to the other group in the general health questionnaire. Body image, self-esteem and temperament features showed no significant difference between the groups. 1Akdeniz Üniversitesi, Tıp Fakültesi, Deri ve Zührevi Hastalıklar Anabilim Dalı, Antalya, Türkiye 2Akdeniz Üniversitesi, Tıp Fakültesi, Dönem 3 Öğrencisi, Antalya, Türkiye 3Akdeniz Üniversitesi, Tıp Fakültesi, Biyoistatistik ve Tıbbi Bilişim Anabilim Dalı, Antalya, Türkiye 4Akdeniz Üniversitesi, Tıp Fakültesi, Ruh Sağlığı ve Hastalıkları Anabilim Dalı, Antalya, Türkiye 5Akdeniz Üniversitesi, Tıp Fakültesi, Tıp Eğitimi Anabilim Dalı, Antalya, Türkiye * Bu çalışma, Akdeniz Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi “Dövme, “piercing” gibi deri süslemeleri” isimli Özel Çalışma Modülü ve ARGE Seçmeli Dersi’nin ortak bir çalışması olup Bilimsel Araştırma Toplulukları Toplantısı’nda 23.04.2016 tarihinde sunulmuştur.