The article Body modifications in college students: Considering gender, self-esteem, body appreciation and reasons for tattoos is authored by Brittany Hill, Ogletree, and McCrary. The authors represent Texas State University. The article explores body modifications in college students by focusing on self-esteem, body appreciation and the need for students to be unique. Hill and her colleagues posed the following research questions to guide their study;
• What are the most common body modifications among college students?
• What are the reasons for the acceptance of tattoos?
• Does body modification increase or decrease self-esteem and body appreciation?
• How do body appreciation and self-esteem correlate among men and women?
Question Two
Previous research suggests that tattoos were taboo and therefore considered a preserve the deviants in society (Damello, 1993; Swami, 2011 as cited in Hills et al., 2016).Sociologists have put forth various theories to explain why tattoos have become popular. One of the theory is social learning that dictates people learn through imitation from others(Bandura, 1997 as cited in Hills et al., 2016). Earlier studies suggest that men have high levels of body appreciation and self-esteem than women when assessed before and after they get tattoos(Swami, 2011).Furthermore, researchers discovered that women perceive tattoos as a way of enhancing their body image through appearance while men focused on traits such as toughness(Atik & Yildirim, 2014; Wohlrab, Stahl. & Kappeler, 2007).
Question Three
The following are the three main hypotheses for the study;
a. There is an interaction between gender and tattoo presence in women in regards to body appreciation and self-esteem (Hills et al., 2016). Therefore, women are predicted to score lower on both self-esteem and body appreciation (Hills et al., 2016).
b. People who have tattoos are likely to score highly on the need for uniqueness but very low on body appreciation and self-esteem (Tate & Shelton, 2008; Tiggermann & Golder, 2006; Tiggermann & Hopkins, 2011; Nathanson et al., 2006).
c. Women are more likely to such use physical appearance as reasons to have tattoos or piercings while mean use character traits such as risk-taking and toughness (Hills et al., 2016).
Question Four
The articles used quantitative research methods. First, the participants were required to provide detailed demographic information (Hills et al., 2016). Then they were to complete a Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1995 as cited in Hills et al., 2016). The RSES was followed by items to evaluate the reasons for the college students having tattoos (Tiggermann & Golder, 2006).Next were four items measuring preferable uniqueness when having body modifications(Lynne & Harris, 1997). The need for uniqueness was followed by Body Appreciation Scale (BAS) to measure how the participants view their body images(Avalos, Tylka, & Wood-Barcalow, 2005). Afterwards, the number of tattoos and facial piercings other than the ear were also assessed(Hills et al., 2016). The BAS had 13 items, the Self-Attributed Need for Uniqueness Scale had 4 items each on items while the comprised of 10 items(Avalos et al., 2005; Lynne & Harris, 1997; Rosenberg, 1965). Both BAS and SANUS had 5 points on a Likert scale while RSES had 4 points (Hills et al., 2016).).
The population of the study was 300 participants of which 88 were males while 212 were women (Hills et al., 2016). Race, education and gender were all factored in the sample size. Caucasians were the majority group at 54% while Asian Americans were the minority at 3.3% (Hills et al., 2016). The liberal arts faculties accounted for 39.7% of the participants a the dominant group and juniors also were the majority at 40.1%(Hills et al., 2016). The analysis is both quantitative and qualitative.It is quantitative in the sense that it used statistical methods to provide numerical data to explain observable behaviour while also using qualitative data analysis techniques such as MANOVA.
Question Five
The study found out that 44% of the participants had tattoos of which 46% had them on parts of the body that are visible (Hills et al., 2016). In addition, 68% indicated that they had more than one tattoo while 19% revealed they have more than four tattoos (Hills et al., 2016). Furthermore, women were more likely to have facial piercings than men and 14% had had them on the face other than the ear(Hills et al., 2016). The frequency of both men and women getting tattoos to express themselves was high at 77% and 80% respectively (Hills et al., 2016). However, were more likely to experience the need for uniqueness when getting tattoos while women want to look good (Hills et al., 2016).
The hypothesis that there is an interaction between gender and tattoo presence for women was disapproved, The research found out that interaction between gender and presence of tattoos was lacking in both males and females(Hills et al., 2016). However, it found that the scores of both body appreciation and self-esteem for women were significantly lower than those of men.
The results also supported the hypothesis that reasons for getting tattoos varied between men and women. Majority of the men were likely to get tattoos to reinforce character while women did it to improve physical appearance(Hills et al., 2016). It was supported by data that showed 22% women perceived tattoos as improving beauty compared to only 2% of men (Hills et al., 2016).Similarly, 21% of men wanted tattoos to look ' as tough' as compared to only 2% of the women respondents(Hills et al., 2016).
The hypothesis that people with tattoos score highly on the need for uniqueness but low on self-esteem and body appreciation were not supported by the findings(Hills et al., 2016). It is because the study discovered a positive correlation between body appreciation and both need for uniqueness and self-esteem (Hills et al., 2016). Therefore those who have a high need for uniqueness because of tattoos should also experience the same with body appreciation and self-esteem.
Question Six
The study was highly valid. There is a direct a correlation between validity and reliability. The reliability of the research is high, hence its validity. For example, the reliability of RSES and BAS scores were high at o.85 and 0.91 Cronbach's alpha (Hills et al., 2016).The researchers were able to accurately predict the findings of the study according to the criteria of measurement put in place. Furthermore, the face validity of the study is high. For example, there were more female participants in the sample than males. Therefore, it is only logical that more women will have more than tattoos than men.
Question Seven
There are three main limitations of the study. First of all, the population of Texas University colleges students included in the sample is small (Hills et al., 2016). Hence, the findings cannot accurately represent the number of college students in the US or around the globe. Secondly, there were more women than men in the sample size (Hills et al., 2016). It means that the number of males in the sample who have tattoos is not an accurate representation. Thirdly the sample size of 300 participants was quite small as a representation of student population either in Texas or the entire US (Hills et al., 2016).
References
Hills, B.M, Ogletree, S.M., & McCrary, K.M. (2016). Body Modifications in College Students: Considering Gender, Self-Esteem, Body Appreciation, and Reasons for Tattoo. College Students Journal
