Know the reasons why bullied teens have extreme desire for plastic surgery
Teenagers engaged in bullying, both victims and perpetrators, may have an outnumbered desire for cosmetic surgery as compared to those not involved in such incidents, a new study suggests. Researchers from University of Warwick in the UK found that perpetrators of bullying wanted to have plastic surgery to improve their appearance and increase their social status. Victims of bullying, however, want to go under the knife because their psychological functioning is affected by being picked on, giving them lower self-esteem, more emotional problems and a desire to change their appearance, researchers said. They screened nearly 2,800 teens for involvement in bullying as rated by themselves and their peers. “Being victimised by peers resulted in poor psychological functioning, which increased desire for cosmetic surgery,” said Dieter Wolke, professor at University of Warwick. “For bullies, cosmetic surgery may simply be another tactic to increase social status to look good and achiev