Recent research noted in the JAMA Network Journals and then published in Science Daily highlighted a study regarding plastic surgery among younger Chinese women. Cosmetic surgery in China is high in demand. The most common surgeries sought after are rhinoplasty and blepharoplasty.
The study involved 161 plastic surgery patients. Additionally, “355 general population controls” and “268 facial appearance raters” also took part in the study.
The article published in JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery indicated months following their eyelid and/or nose surgery, the study group indicated feelings of elevated self-esteem and confidence. The study also revealed that these levels of confidence were lower prior to their procedures.
The impetus for this study was assessing the psychological profile of these women due to the fact that plastic surgery in China has proliferated.
Leading the study was Jincai Fan, M.D., of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College in Beijing. He and his coauthors assessed the following:
*Reasons for cosmetic surgery
*Expectations and effectiveness of the procedure
*Postoperative psychological conditions
According to Science Daily, “The authors report self-esteem and self-efficacy scores were lower preoperatively in young women compared with women in the general population who had not visited a plastic surgeon, but those scores increased to nearly normal levels six months after surgery.”
The study was done via a questionnaire both before surgery and then six months following the procedure. Photos of the women were taken for the purpose of the facial appearance raters. Interestingly, the facial appearance raters did not note any distinct differences between those who underwent plastic surgery from those that didn’t who were in the general population segment of the study.
The authors of the study stated, “Self-esteem and self-efficacy mediate the negative effects of self-assessment on the decision of young women to undergo facial cosmetic surgery. The impairment of self-esteem and self-efficacy may indicate the need for preoperative psychological intervention.”
In light of the plastic surgery surge in China, this study was quite interesting.
