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Dissertation
Body image and self-esteem in women seeking breast augmentation
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Medical College of Pennsylvania and Hahnemann University
Dec 1998
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00007251
Abstract
Women have attempted to alter and enhance their breasts for centuries through a variety of methods. Breast augmentation surgery constitutes one method of enhancement which continues to increase in popularity, despite the many risks and complications associated with it. To investigate the reasons motivating women to obtain augmentation surgery, recent research has focused upon the impact of sociocultural influences. Such elements are thought to exert a great deal of pressure on women to conform to societal ideals and standards of beauty, and also have been demonstrated to have a strong role in the development and maintenance of body image and self-esteem. As these constructs embody appearance concerns and evaluation of the self, they may be the most relevant psychological constructs by which to understand breast augmentation patients. As no empirically sound assessment of body image and self-esteem has yet been conducted with this population, further research in this area is clearly warranted. Furthermore, the existing body of research has failed to compare the body and self-image of augmentation candidates with other women of similar breast size who do not seek augmentation. Presumably, these women would have been subjected to similar sociocultural influences relating to their breast size. A comparison of body image and self-esteem in these two groups of like-sized women might help determine why it is that only some of these women are driven to seek surgical change. The present study was designed to explore the levels of disturbance in body image and self-esteem in breast augmentation candidates in comparison to a control group of like-sized women. Body image and self-esteem were assessed using four self-report measures. Based upon the extant literature, it was predicted that women seeking augmentation would display significantly poorer body image and self-esteem than would the control group of like-sized women. Results of the present study indicated that augmentation candidates displayed higher degrees of body image dissatisfaction relegated specifically to their breasts. Augmentation candidates endorsed more symptoms of breast dissatisfaction, greater distress over and avoidance of bodily exposure/contact, and greater feelings of distress in social situations due to concerns about their breasts. Surgical candidates did not differ from control participants on global self-esteem; however, in the surgical group alone, greater body-image dissatisfaction was related to lower self-esteem. Surgical candidates also reported a greater discrepancy between their actual and ideal conceptions of breast size, and endorsed the idea that large breasts are preferred by both men and women. These findings underscore the importance of exploring interventions to challenge sociocultural influences and to mitigate body image dissatisfaction in this population.
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Details
- Title
- Body image and self-esteem in women seeking breast augmentation
- Creators
- Jodi E. Nordmann
- Contributors
- James D. Herbert (Advisor) - Drexel University, Medical College of Pennsylvania and Hahnemann University (1993-1996, 1998-2002)
- Awarding Institution
- Medical College of Pennsylvania and Hahnemann University
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Publisher
- Medical College of Pennsylvania and Hahnemann University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- vii, 149, [27] pages
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Medical College of Pennsylvania and Hahnemann University (1993-1996, 1998-2002); Clinical and Health Psychology [Historical]; School of Health Professions (1998-2000)
- Other Identifier
- 991021888896204721