Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Factors Affecting Acceptance of Cosmetic Surgery in Adults in Their 20s–30s

  • Original Article
  • Special Topics
  • Published:
Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

This descriptive study investigates cosmetic surgery experience, awareness of side effects, self-esteem, and acceptance of cosmetic surgery (ACS) and aims to identify factors that affect ACS.

Methods

Data on 398 randomly selected participants from a panel of sex-stratified adults in their 20s and 30s registered online with a Korean survey company were collected in September 2019. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, crosstabs, Chi-square test, ANOVA, Pearson’s correlation, and multiple linear regression.

Results

Among the subjects, 47.2% were male and 52.8% were female. The average age of the subjects was 29.98 years. While 91.7% of the subjects previously acquired information on side effects related to cosmetic surgery, the most frequent source was from “bus stops and subway stops,” reported by 83.6% of them. Blepharoplasty was the most frequently performed procedure reported by 50 of the 89 subjects (22.4%) who underwent 1 or more cosmetic surgery procedures. Among 187 subjects (47.0%) considering cosmetic surgery in the future, “botulinum toxin” was the most frequently considered procedure. ACS of the subjects was higher with employment (β = .15, p < .001), previous experience with cosmetic surgery (β = .22, p < .001), consideration for future cosmetic surgery (β = .49, p < .001), and lower appearance satisfaction (AS) (β = −.10, p = .008), and the explanatory power of these variables was 41.7% (F = 72.08, p < .001).

Conclusions

Most of the subjects in this study were aware of the side effects of cosmetic surgery, and about half were considering cosmetic surgery in the future. Employment status, previous experience with cosmetic surgery, consideration for future cosmetic surgery, and AS were found to be factors affecting ACS. Correlations between age, BMI, ACS, AS, depression, and self-esteem were identified.

Level of Evidence V

This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these evidence-based medicine ratings, please refer to the table of contents or the online instructions to authors www.springer.com/00266.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Article 13 May 2021

Andrea Sisti, Negaar Aryan & Payam Sadeghi

References

  1. Karupiah P (2012) Modification of the body: a comparative analysis of views of youths in Penang, Malaysia and Seoul, South Korea. J Youth Stud 16(1):1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2012.693588

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Gallup Korea (2015) Appearance and recognition of cosmetic surgery—1994/2004/2015 compare [Internet]. Gallup Korea, Seoul [cited 2019 Dec 30]. http://www.gallup.co.kr/gallupdb/reportContent.asp?seqNo=656

  3. Korea Consumer Agency (2019) 2018 Consumer Damage Remedial Annual and Casebook [internet]. Korea Consumer Agency, Chungcheongbuk-do [cited 2019 Dec 30]. http://www.kca.go.kr/odr/pg/pi/osPgAnnualExamW.do

  4. The Economist (2013) Plastic makes perfect [Internet]. The Economist, London [cited 2019 Dec 30]. http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2013/01/daily-chart-22

  5. ISAPS (2011) ISAPS Global Statistics [Internet]. International society of aesthetic plastic surgery, Hanover (NH) [cited 2019 Dec 30]. http://www.isaps.org/news/isaps-global-statistics

  6. Shilling C (2003) The body and social theory, 2nd edn. Sage Publications, London

    Google Scholar 

  7. Bordo S (1993) Unbearable weight: feminism, western culture and the body. The University of California Press, Berkely

    Google Scholar 

  8. Jung JW (2006) The meaning and phenomenon of consumption culture for body in consumption society. Consum Cult Study 9(1):83–101 (in Korean)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Korea Consumer Agency (2015) Asymmetry complaints on side effects of plastic surgery [Internet]. Korea Consumer Agency, Chungcheongbuk-do [cited 2019 Dec 30]. https://www.kca.go.kr/kca/sub.do?menukey=5084&mode=view&no=1001624993

  10. Swami V, Arteche A, Chamorro-Premuzic T, Furnham A, Stieger S, Haubner T, Voracek M (2008) Looking good: factors affecting the likelihood of having cosmetic surgery. Eur J Plast Surg 30(1):211–218. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00238-007-0185-z

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Henderson-King D, Henderson-King E (2005) Acceptance of cosmetic surgery: scale development and validation. Body Image 2(2):137–149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2005.03.003

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Kim YA, Chae DH, Kim HL (2017) Factors affecting acceptance of cosmetic surgery among undergraduate students. J Korea Contents Assoc 17(1):455–464. https://doi.org/10.5392/JKCA.2017.17.01.455(in Korean)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Seo YA, Cho Chung HI, Kim YA (2019) Experience and acceptance of cosmetic procedures among South Korean women in their 20s. Aesthetic Plast Surg 43(2):531–538. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00266-018-1257-0

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Ambro BT, Wright RJ (2010) Depression in the cosmetic surgery patient. Facial Plast Surg 26(4):333–338. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0030-1262309

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Naraghi M, Atari M (2015) A comparison of depression scores between aesthetic and functional rhinoplasty patients. Asian J Psychiatr 14:28–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2015.01.009

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Kim YA, Cho Chung HI (2018) Side effect experiences of South Korean women in their twenties and thirties after facial plastic surgery. Int J Womens Health 14(10):309–316. https://doi.org/10.2147/IJWH.S163991

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Secord PF, Jourard SM (1953) The appraisal of body cathexis and the self. J Consult Psychol 17(5):343–347

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Rosenberg M (1965) Society and the adolescent self-image, 1st edn. Princeton University Press, Princeton

    Book  Google Scholar 

  19. Cho MJ, Kim KH (1993) Diagnostic validity of the CES-D (Korean version) in the assessment of DSM-III-R major depression. J Korean Neuropsychiatr Assoc 32(3):381–399 (in Korean)

    Google Scholar 

  20. ISAPS (2014) ISAPS Global Statistics [Internet]. International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, Hanover (NH) [cited 2019 Dec 30]. http://www.isaps.org/news/isaps-global-statistics

  21. Mazzeo SE, Trace SE, Mitchell KS, Gow RW (2007) Effects of a reality TV cosmetic surgery makeover program on eating disordered attitudes and behaviors. Eat Behav 8(3):390–397. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2006.11.016

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Swami V, Chamorro-Premuzic T, Bridges S, Furnham A (2009) Acceptance of cosmetic surgery: personality and individual difference predictors. Body Image 6(1):7–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2008.09.004

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Orth U, Robins RW, Roberts BW (2008) Low self-esteem prospectively predicts depression in adolescence and young adulthood. J Pers Soc Psychol 95(3):695–708. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.95.3.695

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Xie B, Unger JB, Gallaher P, Johnson CA, Wu Q, Chou CP (2010) Overweight, body image, and depression in Asian and Hispanic adolescents. Am J Health Behav 34(4):476–488

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Figueroa C (2003) Self-esteem and cosmetic surgery: is there a relationship between the two? Plast Surg Nurs 23(1):21–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Park LE, Calogero RM, Young AF, Diraddo AM (2010) Appearance-based rejection sensitivity predicts body dysmorphic disorder symptoms and cosmetic surgery acceptance. J Soc Clin Psychol 29(5):489–509. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2010.29.5.489

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Jung JH, Hwang CS (2016) Associations between attitudes toward cosmetic surgery, celebrity worship, and body image among South Korean and US female college students. Fash Text 3(17):1–14. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40691-016-0069-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean government (MSIT; Ministry of Science and ICT) (no. NRF-2017R1C1B5016043).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Applied Meteorology Research Division, National Institute of Meteorological Sciences, Jeju-do, Republic of Korea

    Yun Am Seo

  2. College of Nursing, Jeju National University, 102 Jejudaehakno, Jeju-si, Jeju-do, 63243, Republic of Korea

    Young A. Kim

Authors
  1. Yun Am Seo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Young A. Kim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Young A. Kim.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Ethical Approval

This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board (JJNU-IRB-2019-036).

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all participants.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Seo, Y.A., Kim, Y.A. Factors Affecting Acceptance of Cosmetic Surgery in Adults in Their 20s–30s. Aesth Plast Surg 44, 1881–1888 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00266-020-01761-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00266-020-01761-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation