Tattooing and body piercing--what motivates you to do it?
BACKGROUND
Body ornamentation is becoming more and more popular, especially among young people.


OBJECTIVE
To establish the sociodemographic characteristics of people with tattoos or body piercing and to analyze the motivations for body ornamentation.


METHODS
The questionnaire studies were undertaken in Lodz--one of the largest cities in Poland. The data was collected from a group of 968 people, 476 of whom had a piercing and 492 a permanent tattoo.


RESULTS
Statistical analysis revealed that in the group of people with a tattoo, 36.8% were female and 63.2% were male. Contrary proportions were noted among people with a piercing: 78.8% female and 21.2% male.


CONCLUSIONS
Body piercing is significantly more popular among women while tattooing is more popular in men. Among adolescents, body piercing is performed considerably earlier than tattooing. The main reasons for body ornamenting in the Polish population are the desire to enhance one's individuality and the need to increase sexual attractiveness.
Antoszewski
Bogusław
B
Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Institute of Surgery, Medical University of Lodz, Poland. klinchirplast@toya.net.pl
Sitek
Aneta
A
Fijałkowska
Marta
M
Kasielska
Anna
A
Kruk-Jeromin
Julia
J
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D046288:Body Piercing / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D011044:Poland; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013653:Tattooing / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult