Tattoos and piercings: bodily expressions of uniqueness?

The study aimed to investigate the motivations underlying the body modification practices of tattooing and piercing. There were 80 participants recruited from an Australian music store, who provided descriptions of their tattoos and piercings and completed measures of need for uniqueness, appearance investment and distinctive appearance investment. It was found that tattooed individuals scored significantly higher on need for uniqueness than non-tattooed individuals. Further, individuals with conventional ear piercings scored significantly lower on need for uniqueness than individuals with no piercings or with facial and body piercings. Neither appearance investment nor distinctive appearance investment differed significantly among tattoo or piercing status groups. Strength of identification with music was significantly correlated with number of tattoos, but not number of piercings. It was concluded that tattooing, but not body piercing, represents a bodily expression of uniqueness.

Tiggemann M ，Hopkins LA 《-》

Modifying the body: motivations for getting tattooed and pierced.

Wohlrab S ，Stahl J ，Kappeler PM 《-》

Motivations for body piercings and tattoos - the role of sexual abuse and the frequency of body modifications.

Though the popularity of body modification increases, psychosocial data about practitioners of body piercing and tattooing are few and controversial. Most studies used semi-structured interviews and relatively small sample sizes. The aim of this study was to explore psychosocial background information (motivation, sexual abuse) for body modification practises based on a sufficiently large sample. A core group of 432 subjects with body piercings and/or tattoos (readers of a specialised magazine on body modification; mean age: 28 years) was investigated in this study using a 55-item questionnaire. The mean number of body modifications (piercings and tattoos) was nine. Participants with a history of sexual abuse and high users with more than 10 body modifications differed from those without these features with respect to several motivations and consequences of body modification. Participants with sexual abuse often stated that they wanted to overcome certain experiences, and high users were characterised by the feeling of an addiction to continue body modification. Clinicians should include questions on body modifications and their motives in anamnestic schedules.

Stirn A ，Oddo S ，Peregrinova L ，Philipp S ，Hinz A ... -  《PSYCHIATRY RESEARCH》

Tattooing, piercing, healthy behaviours and health value.

Huxley C ，Grogan S 《JOURNAL OF HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY》

Tattooing: An expression of uniqueness in the appearance domain.

Tiggemann M ，Golder F 《-》