Investigating the Role of Cognitive and Emotional Factors in Botox Injection in Women Referring to Skin and Hair Clinics

Today, the tendency of people, especially women, to perform various cosmetic surgeries has increased, and it is important to identify the causes of this problem. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the role of cognitive and emotional factors in the Botox injection in women referring to skin and hair clinics.

Methods and Materials:

 Among women referring to skin and hair clinics in Isfahan city in 2020, 60 women applying for Botox injections were selected and 60 normal women were matched with the first group in terms of demographic variables. The participants in the research responded to the beliefs about appearance scale (BAAS), cognitive emotion regulation questionnaire (CERQ), and body image concern inventory (BICI). The data were analyzed by multivariate analysis of variance and discriminate analysis.

The results showed that the mean scores of the dimensions of dysfunctional beliefs about appearance, except for the dimension of progress, rumination from the maladaptive emotion regulation strategies, and dysmorphic concern, are significantly higher in women undergoing Botox injections than normal women. Also, the results of the discriminate analysis showed that rumination from the dimensions of cognitive emotion regulation strategies and feelings from the dimensions of beliefs about appearance could predict Botox injection in women.

In general, these results showed that rumination and negative feelings towards oneself due to skin folds and wrinkles in women are the most important predictors of Botox injection in women; therefore, these findings can lead to solutions to prevent the tendency of people to apply unnecessary beauty treatments.