Body Image and Personality in Aesthetic Plastic Surgery: A Case-Control Study

Introduction: The amount of research on the relationship between plastic surgery and psychological features, such as personality disorders and indexes of body image dissatisfaction, has increased significantly in the last years. Aim: The aim of the present study was to examine these psychological features among Italian patients who underwent aesthetic plastic surgery, testing the mediating role of the mass media influence on the relationship between them and the choice of aesthetic plastic surgery. The Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire 4+ (PDQ-4+) and the Body Uneasiness Test (BUT) were administered to patients who underwent aesthetic plastic surgery (N = 111) and participants who had no history of aesthetic plastic surgical procedures (N = 149). Results: Results showed that aesthetic patients reported higher indexes of body image disturbance than controls. No significant differences between aesthetic participants and controls were found in all three cluster B personality disorders. Moreover, the effect of body image dissatisfaction on the choice to undergo aesthetic plastic surgery was partially mediated by the influence of mass media. Conclusions: In conclusion, the present study confirmed the importance of body dissatisfaction as a predictor of the choice to undergo aesthetic surgery and highlighted the influence of media messages regarding physical appearance.