Mental body representations of women with tattoos in emerging adulthood - a cluster analysis
Klaudia Jabłońska1, Beata Mirucka2
1Department of Psychotherapy and Health Psychology, Institute of Psychology, The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Al. Racławickie 14, 20-950, Lublin, Poland. klaudia.jablonska@kul.pl.
Abstract:
Tattoo is a permanent body modification relevant to women's bodily experiences. Previous studies on the population of tattooers have focused mainly on searching for negative or positive aspects of tattooing, mainly in the field of self-esteem. The aim of this study was to explore the mental body representations of tattooed women during emerging adulthood. Three hundred and twenty-seven women with tattoos, aged 18 to 25 (M = 21.48; SD = 2.05), participated in the study. In the study, we adopted a quantitative research project; the data for analysis was obtained from questionnaires that were completed online between January and March 2021. Women with tattoos completed a survey containing demographic questions, questions regarding their tattoos, the Battery of Tests of Body Self Representations, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Based on that a cluster analysis, we have discovered three types of mental body representations that may characterize them: (1) unstable, (2) disordered, and (3) integrated. The study showed that having a tattoo is associated with experiencing carnality in a specific way.
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