title: Psychological characteristics and motivation of women seeking labiaplasty.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Labiaplasty is an increasingly popular surgical intervention but little is known about the characteristics and motivation of women who seek the procedure or the psychosexual outcome.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 55 women seeking labiaplasty were compared with 70 women who did not desire labiaplasty. Various general measures of psychopathology as well as specific measures (Genital Appearance Satisfaction; Cosmetic Procedure Screening for labiaplasty) were used. Labia measurements of the women seeking labiaplasty were also obtained.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Women seeking labiaplasty did not differ from controls on measures of depression or anxiety. They did, however, express increased dissatisfaction towards the appearance of their genitalia, with lower overall sexual satisfaction and a poorer quality of life in terms of body image. Women seeking labiaplasty reported a significantly greater frequency of avoidance behaviours on all the domains assessed, and greater frequency of safety-seeking behaviours for most of the domains. Key motivations reported for labiaplasty were categorized as cosmetic, functional or sexual. Of the 55 women seeking labiaplasty, 10 met diagnostic criteria for body dysmorphic disorder.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the first controlled study to describe some of the characteristics and motivations of women seeking labiaplasty. We identified a wide range of avoidance and safety-seeking behaviours, which occurred more frequently in the labiaplasty group than the control group. These could be used clinically as part of a psychological intervention for women seeking labiaplasty.
authors: NIHR Specialist Biomedical Research Centre for Mental Health at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK.
authors: D
authors: D
authors: Veale
authors: NIHR Specialist Biomedical Research Centre for Mental Health at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK.
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Eshkevari
authors: NIHR Specialist Biomedical Research Centre for Mental Health at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK.
authors: N
authors: N
authors: Ellison
authors: NIHR Specialist Biomedical Research Centre for Mental Health at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK.
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Costa
authors: Department of Urogynaecology, King's College London, London, UK.
authors: D
authors: D
authors: Robinson
authors: Cosmetic Solutions, London, UK.
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Kavouni
authors: Department of Urogynaecology, King's College London, London, UK.
authors: L
authors: L
authors: Cardozo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology; D001362:Avoidance Learning; D057215:Body Dysmorphic Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D001828:Body Image / Q000523:psychology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D013518:Surgery, Plastic / Q000523:psychology* / Q000639:trends; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014844:Vulva / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D055815:Young Adult