title: Are tattooed adults really more aggressive and rebellious than those without tattoos?
abstract: One stereotype of people with tattoos is that they are more aggressive and rebellious than people without tattoos. However, studies examining differences in these traits between tattooed and non-tattooed individuals are dated and have returned equivocal results. To re-examine this issue, we asked 378 adults from London, UK, to complete self-report measures of aggression and rebelliousness, and to report the number of tattoos they possessed. Of this sample, 25.7% possessed at least one tattoo, with no sex difference in the distribution of tattoo status. We found that tattooed adults had significantly higher reactive rebelliousness, anger, and verbal aggression than non-tattooed adults. However, effect sizes were small and there were also no significant between-group differences in terms of proactive rebelliousness, physical aggression, and hostility. These results suggest that, while stereotypes may contain a kernel of truth, they likely present an outmoded picture of tattooed adults.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Westminster, London, UK; Department of Psychology, HELP University College, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Electronic address: v.swami@westminster.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Viren
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Swami
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Westminster, London, UK.
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gaughan
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, School of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Ulrich S
authors.initials: US
authors.lastname: Tran
authors.affiliation: Research Methods, Assessment, and iScience, Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kuhlmann
authors.affiliation: Research Methods, Assessment, and iScience, Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stieger
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, School of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Voracek
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D000786:Anger; D001828:Body Image; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008131:London; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D057566:Self Report; D013240:Stereotyping; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013653:Tattooing / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Aggression; Body art; Rebelliousness; Tattoos