Journal of

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Background and Aim: Cosmetic surgery is performed for improvement of psycho-social function in­ absence physical cues. This multidimensional concept depends on many factors such as beliefs about appearance and inferiority feeling. The purpose of this study was to compare two factors of beliefs about appearance and inferiority feeling in volunteer and non-volunteer individuals for cosmetic surgery, investigation of the relationship between these factors, and evaluations of the predictors for seeking cosmetic surgery among the participants.
Methods: In this case-control research, 50 individuals who were seeking cosmetic surgery and were admitted at cosmetic clinics in Tabriz and 50  individuals who were not seeking cosmetic surgery were asked participate.
Results: The participants were enrolled to the study using available sampling mehods. There were differences between beliefs about appearance and inferiority feeling in those sought and those did not seek cosmetic surgery. Those who sought cosmetic surgery achieved higher scores in both factors in comparison with those did not seek those procedures. It also became clear that there was a relationship between beliefs about appearance and inferiority feeling of volunteers of the cosmetic surgery: the higher were the individuals scores in beliefs about appearance, the higher was the inferiority feeling. From another perspective, it was observed that the two factors of marital status and inferiority feeling were strong predictors for tendency to the cosmetic surgery.
Conclusion: Motivation for the cosmetic surgery has its roots in a combination of cognitional, personal, and interpersonal factors therefore, psychological counseling is advised before cosmetic surgery.

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Background and Aim: The present research aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Persian version of socio-cultural attitudes towards appearance questionnaire-3 (SATAQ-3). Methods: The sample of this study cross-sectional was 250 highschool students (173 girls and 77 boys) in Abarkouh, who were selected through cluster random sampling, responded to Persian version of socio-cultural attitudes towards appearance questionnaire-3. The reliability coefficients of the SATAQ-3 were calculated using internal consistency and spilt-half methods, which were 0.77 and 0.55 respectively. The construct validity of the inventory was investigated using factor analysis. Results: Factor analysis of the inventory using varimax rotation based on scree test, showed 4 factors labeled Internalization-General, Internalization-Athlete, Information and Pressures, which covered 37.61% percent of the total variance. Conclusion: In general, findings of the research confirmed appropriate validity and reliability of the Persian version of SATAQ-3 and showed that it can be simply applied in clinical and research situations for evaluation of individual’s attitude towards personal appearance affected by socio-cultural factors.

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Background and Aim: Demand for cosmetic surgeries is very high, especially in Iran and is affected by economic, social and psychological variables. The aim of this study was to compare the beliefs about appearance, irrational beliefs and presentation of body mass in individuals who demand and who do not demand cosmetic surgery procedures.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Shahid Sadoghi Savaneh va Soukhtegi Hospital in Yazd in 2014. The questionnaires were given to 150 individuals who were looking for cosmetic surgery, of which 126 completed questionnaires were considered eligible for analyses.

Results: There was a statistically significant difference in BMI and beliefs about appearance between who demand cosmetic surgery and who do not (P=0.022, P=0.017, respectively). Those who were looking for cosmetic surgery had more irrational beliefs in comparison with who were not (P=0.017). Mean of irrational beliefs was higher in females than males, but there was no statistically significant difference in the means of beliefs about appearance among women and men (P=0.131). Also, the mean of beliefs about appearance and irrational beliefs scores both were higher among single people than married ones (P=0.049 and P=0.045, respectively).

Conclusion: Gender, BMI and cognitive characteristics, especially irrational beliefs regarding attractiveness played significant roles in the those demanding cosmetic surgery. We suggest that people consult dietitians and psychology counselors before making decisions about undergoing a cosmetic surgery procedure.