Breast implants and Body image

From the article “An investigation of changes in body image following cosmetic surgery”

Prospective patients, as compared with controls, did not report increased dissatisfaction with their overall body image; however, they did report heightened dissatisfaction with the specific body feature for which they were pursuing surgery.

Results of the present study indicate that following cosmetic surgery women report significant improvements in body image dissatisfaction with the specific feature altered by surgery. Interestingly, these women did not report significant changes in their overall body image.

The effects of surgery on patients’ more global satisfaction with their appearance, however, were mixed. Patients did report a significant improvement in self-rated attractiveness following cosmetic surgery, as assessed by a single question in the patient information questionnaire.

Therefore, it appears that cosmetic surgery has positive effects on an individual’s thoughts and feelings about the specific feature altered by surgery, but that these effects may not generalise to the overall body image.

Thus, cosmetic surgery appears to reduce the occurrence of both negative emotional and behavioural body image experiences.

Rankin and colleagues 24 found that women reported significant improvements in depressive symptoms and quality of life 6 months post-operatively as compared with pre-operative levels. Coupling the results of the present study with those of Rankin and colleagues, there is no empirical evidence that indicates that cosmetic surgery leads to improvements in at least three areas of psychological functioning – depressive symptoms, quality of life, and body image.

References –
4. Thompson, J.K., L,J., Altabe, M., and Tantleff-Dunn, S Exacting Beauty: Theory, Assessment and Treatment of Body Image Disturbance, Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association, 1999.
5. Sarwer, D.B., Waddem, T.A., Pertschuk, M.J., and Whitaker, L.A. The psychology of cosmetic surgery: A review and reconceptualization. Clin. Psychol. Rev. 18:1, 1998
6. Sarwer, D.B., Wadden, T.A., Pertschuk, M. J., and Whitaker, L.A. Body Image dissatisfaction and body dysmorphic disorder in 100 cosmetic surgery patients. Plast. Reconstr. Surg 101: 1644, 1998.

24. Rankin, M., Borah, G.L., Perry, A.W., and Wey, P.D. Quality of life outcomes after cosmetic surgery. Plast. Reconstr. Surg. 102: 2139, 1998