title: Factors That Influence the Decision to Undergo Labiaplasty: Media, Relationships, and Psychological Well-Being.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  An increasing number of women are undergoing labiaplasty procedures; however, very little is known about the psychological factors that motivate women to seek out this procedure.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the factors that influence women's decisions to undergo labiaplasty.
  
  
  METHODS
  Women seeking to undergo labiaplasty (n = 35) were compared with women who were not (n = 30). Standardized measures were employed to assess the patients' media exposure (television, the Internet, advertising, pornography), relationship quality, and psychological well-being.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Women's motivations for deciding to undergo a labiaplasty procedure were characterized as "appearance," "functional," "sexual," or "psychological" motivations, with concerns about the labia's appearance being the most commonly reported motivation. Correspondingly, women seeking labiaplasty were significantly less satisfied with the appearance of their genitals than the comparison group (P < .001). These women had also experienced greater exposure to images of female genitalia on the Internet (P = .004) and in advertisements (P = .021), and had internalized these images to a greater extent (P = .010). There were no differences between the two groups on the measures of relationship quality. However, significantly fewer of the women seeking to undergo a labiaplasty procedure were involved in a romantic relationship at the time of the study (P = .039). There were also no differences between the two groups on the measures of psychological well-being, except that women seeking to undergo labiaplasty were less satisfied with their lives overall (P = .027).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings identified media exposure and relationship status as important factors that influence women's decisions to undergo labiaplasty.
  
  
  METHODS
  3 Risk.
authors.affiliation: From the School of Psychology, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Gemma
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sharp
authors.affiliation: From the School of Psychology, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Marika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tiggemann
authors.affiliation: From the School of Psychology, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mattiske
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001828:Body Image / Q000523:psychology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003357:Cosmetic Techniques; D004882:Erotica; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008402:Mass Media; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011788:Quality of Life; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures; D012060:Rejuvenation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014844:Vulva / Q000601:surgery*; D055815:Young Adult