Do young women with tattoos have lower self-esteem and body image than their peers without tattoos? A non-verbal repertory grid technique approach

Available evidence regarding the reasons for people to acquire body markers such as tattoos is contradictory. The present study was designed to investigate the relationship between self-esteem and body image in young women with tattoos. To this end, the repertory grid technique (RGT) was adapted and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2019-01, Vol.14 (1), p.e0206411-e0206411
Main Authors: Kertzman, Semion, Kagan, Alex, Hegedish, Omer, Lapidus, Rina, Weizman, Abraham
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Analysis
Biology and Life Sciences
Body image
Body Image - psychology
Decision Making
Female
Health aspects
Humans
Image detection
Male
Peer Group
Psychometrics
Research and Analysis Methods
Self Concept
Self esteem
Self image
Self Report - statistics & numerical data
Social aspects
Social Sciences
Software
Studies
Tattooing
Tattooing - psychology
Tattoos
Young Adult
Young women
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Summary:Available evidence regarding the reasons for people to acquire body markers such as tattoos is contradictory. The present study was designed to investigate the relationship between self-esteem and body image in young women with tattoos. To this end, the repertory grid technique (RGT) was adapted and used to assess differences between women with and without tattoos in terms of self-esteem and body image. Sixty young women with tattoos and sixty young women without (all aged 18-35 years), performed the Color RGT in order to evaluate the relationship between self-esteem and body image. Compared to women without tattoos, women with tattoos showed significantly lower self-esteem and displayed stronger relationships between three constructs: ideal body, ideal self and tattooed woman status. No significant differences in body image were detected between the two groups. Women with tattoos were characterized by an association between body image and self-esteem, while women without tattoos did not display such a correlation. Thus, it appears that links between self-esteem, ideal body, ideal self and constructs of "woman with tattoos" may play a role in tattooing behavior in young women.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0206411