The Role of Spiritual Health, Body Appreciation, and Perceived Social Media Advertising Deception in Predicting the Tendency towards Cosmetic Surgery in Women

Karimi, Solmaz; Moheb, Naeimeh

doi:10.30473/hpj.2025.69005.5885

Document Type : Scientific Research

Authors

Solmaz Karimi ¹
Naeimeh Moheb ²

¹ 1. M.Sc. of Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Human and Educational Sciences, Islamic Azad University , Tabriz, Iran

² Assistant Prof., Department of Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran

https://doi.org/10.30473/hpj.2025.69005.5885

Abstract

Objective: The aimed of present study was to predict the tendency toward cosmetic surgery in women applying for cosmetic surgery based on spiritual health, body appreciation, and perceived social media advertising deception. Method: The present research design is correlational. The statistical population of this research was all the women applying for cosmetic surgery (Without medical necessity) who referred to the beauty clinics in Mashhad in the first three months of 2023, from a sample of 120 people who were selected voluntarily, and responded to questionnaires of the tendency towards cosmetic surgery and perceived social media advertising deception, spiritual well-being scale (SWBS), body appreciation scales (BAS). Data were analyzed using the Pearson coefficient and stepwise regression analysis using SPSS software. Results: Most of the participants in the present study were between 31 and 35 years old (21.7%, 26 people) and in terms of education, 41.7% (50 people) had a Bachelor's degree. 73.3% (88 people) of the participants in this study were married and 60.8% (73 people) of them were unemployed. Also, 34.2% (41 people) of the people participating in the present study applied for cosmetic surgery of the abdomen and 33.3% (40 people) applied for cosmetic surgery of the nose. The study's results showed that the perceived social media advertising deception has a significant positive relationship (r=0.38, p<0.01), and spiritual health and body appreciation have a significant negative relationship (respectively, r=-0.32 and r=-0.40, p<0.01) with the tendency towards cosmetic surgery. By entering predictor variables, it was determined that all three variables of spiritual health (β=-0.322), body appreciation (β=-0.344), and perceived social media advertising deception (β=0.353) explain about 38% of the variance of the tendency to cosmetic surgery. Of course, the variable of perceived social media advertising deception has more weight in explaining the tendency toward cosmetic surgery. Conclusion: The results of the present study clarified this vital theme for researchers and experts in the mental health field, that social media play the most important role in the tendency towards cosmetic surgery. Also, mental health policymakers should be mobilized to raise the feeling of appreciation for their body and spiritual health by adopting a series of measures and trainings for young women. This results can be useful for parents, clinicians, and mental health policymakers to understand how Internet habits, especially social media use, influence psychosocial motivations underlying the desire for cosmetic surgery. More studies are needed in Iranian populations of different cultures to better understand the trend towards cosmetic surgery and prevent cultural interventions in its incorrect promotion.

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The Role of Spiritual Health, Body Appreciation, and Perceived Social Media Advertising Deception in Predicting the Tendency towards Cosmetic Surgery in Women

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Volume 13, Issue 52March 2025Pages 65-80

Volume 13, Issue 52
March 2025
Pages 65-80