Shloido D.E. Body Dissatisfaction in Women Seeking Appearance Changes
Dina E. Shloido, postgraduate student, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia; bld. 6, emb. Makarova, St. Petersburg, Russia, 199034; board member of Association of Eating Disorders Specialists, St. Petersburg, Russia; bld. 14–1, Martynovskaya str., St. Petersburg, Russia, 197371; dina.shloydo@gmail.com
Background and Aims. The perception of physical appearance among women with cosmetic surgery experience and those with eating disorder (ED) symptoms is rarely examined in comparative studies. This article presents empirical findings comparing body dissatisfaction, appearance-based rejection sensitivity, and body image-related quality of life across three groups: cosmetic surgery patients, women with ED symptoms, and healthy controls without surgical experience.
Methods. The study involved 74 cosmetic surgery patients (mean age 37 ± 8.27), 41 women with ED symptoms (mean age 31.5 ± 9.65), and 70 controls (mean age 35.6 ± 10.54). Assessment tools included: 1. Body Image Questionnaire; 2. Appearance-based Rejection Sensitivity Scale (Russian adaptation by Razvaliaeva & Polskaya); 3. The Body Image Quality of Life Inventory (BIQLI; Russian adaptation by Baranskaya et al.); 4. Value Orientations Assessment; 5. Custom-designed questionnaire.
Results. Physical attractiveness was identified as a core value among women with cosmetic surgery experience and women with eating disorder symptoms. 47.3% of cosmetic surgery patients reported persistent significant body image dissatisfaction, and 8.1% demonstrated clinically impaired body image (suggesting heterogeneous psychological outcomes of cosmetic procedures). Despite pronounced body image disturbances, 26.9% of ED participants (vs. 31.4% of controls) considered cosmetic surgery. Notably, 9.8% of ED patients had concrete surgical plans.
Compared to both surgical patients and controls, women with ED demonstrated: significantly higher body dissatisfaction, greater appearance-based rejection sensitivity, and more pronounced negative impact of body image on quality of life.
Conclusion. The findings emphasize the critical need for preoperative psychological screening to identify contraindications, including clinically significant body dysmorphia and active ED symptoms.
Key words: body image, body dissatisfaction, cosmetic surgery, eating disorders, disordered eating
For citation: Shloido, D.E. (2025). Body Dissatisfaction in Women Seeking Appearance Changes. New Psychological Research, No. 3, 242–266. DOI: 10.51217/npsyresearch_2025_05_03_12
Keywords: body image body dissatisfaction cosmetic surgery eating disorders disordered eating
Received: 08th october 2025
Published: 08th october 2025