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Abstract
Objective: To determine the psychological profile of female patients undergoing aesthetic surgeries and assess associations between psychological characteristics, motivations for surgery, and procedure type.
Study Design: Cross-sectional analytical study.
Place and Duration of Study: This Study was conducted at Department of Psychiatry, Armed Forces Institute of Mental Health, Rawalpind from April 2024 to November 2024.
Methodology: A total of 78 female patients undergoing elective aesthetic surgical procedures were included. Demographic, clinical, and surgery-related data were recorded, and psychological profiling was performed using standardized assessments for self-esteem, body image dissatisfaction, anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, perfectionistic traits, and body dysmorphic tendencies.
Results: The mean age was 31.8 ± 7.6 years. Body image dissatisfaction was the most common psychological characteristic, observed in 41 (52.6%) patients, followed by perfectionistic traits in 34 (43.6%), anxiety symptoms in 29 (37.2%), and low self-esteem in 26 (33.3%). Body dysmorphic tendencies were present in 15 (19.2%) patients. Patients influenced by external motivations had significantly higher frequencies of low self-esteem (48.1% vs 25.5%, p=0.041), body image dissatisfaction (70.4% vs 43.1%, p=0.028), anxiety symptoms (51.9% vs 29.4%, p=0.049), perfectionistic traits (59.3% vs 35.3%, p=0.036), and body dysmorphic tendencies (33.3% vs 11.8%, p=0.022) compared with self-driven patients.
Conclusion: Female patients undergoing aesthetic surgeries demonstrated a substantial burden of psychological characteristics relevant to patient selection and expectation management. Psychological profiling may be useful as part of preoperative assessment in aesthetic surgical practice.