Predictive factors of seeking cosmetic surgery

Seeking cosmetic surgery has been a mental strategy to avoid reality. This multidimensional concept depended on many factors such as personality traits and defensive styles of people. The purpose of this study was to investigate the predictive factors of seeking cosmetic surgery among the candidates. The method of the research­ was correlation، and the implementation of questionnaires was individual. Using method of available sampling، form 80 people who referred to cosmetic clinics of Yazd city in 2011 for cosmetic surgery was asked to voluntarily complete NEO personality traits and defensive styles inventories. Also، 80 non-volunteers person referring to the above clinics were determined as control group. For analyzing of data، logistic regression and multiple ANCOVA were used. The findings of the present research demonstrated that the three factors including marital status، the level of mother’s education and neurotic defensive styles were strong predictors for the tendency to the cosmetic surgery. Also، the results of comparison between volunteer and non-volunteer people of the same sex demonstrated that، with the control of age effect and person education، there was any significant difference between males of two groups in personality traits، but they were different in terms of immature defensive styles (P=0. 02). There was no significant difference between the females of two groups in personality traits too; whereas، they were different in terms of immature (P=0. 03) and neurotic (P=0. 02) defensive styles. Motivation for the seeking cosmetic surgery was the combination of psychological، emotional and familial factors، and ego defenses were used­ as regulator psychological mechanisms of the maladapted traits and negative emotions.