General Attitudes, Cultural Significance and Health Risks Associated with Body Arts among Ewe Youth in the Volta Region of Ghana

Mary Ama Agbezuge,Daniel Kwabena Danso,Dickson Adom

doi:10.4236/adr.2022.101001

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to assess the general attitudes, cultural significance and health risks associated with body arts on the Ewe youth in the Volta Region of Ghana. The descriptive research design under the quantitative research approach was adopted for the study. The sample for this study was made up of 120 Ewe youth in the Volta region of Ghana who were sampled using the random sampling method. Researcher-designed questionnaire was the main data collection tool. The analysis was done quantitatively using descriptive statistics in the form of frequencies and percentages with the aid of the SPSS software. The findings revealed that the majority of the respondents (95%) said that Ewes are concerned about the cultural significance of body arts as indicators of social status, self-esteem, beauty, ethnic and religious identity, as well as spiritual and medicinal protection. Regarding the health risks associated with body arts, it was found that 97% stated that body decoration can lead to body cancer and allergic reaction, 83% agreed that body arts can cause pain and excessive bleeding, 95% said body arts can cause nerve damage, 68% said body arts can cause life-threatening bacterial infections and 79% indicated that body arts can lead to blood-borne virus infections like Hepatitis B and HIV. The study contends that a greater section of the Ewe youth have extensive knowledge regarding the cultural significance and health risks of body arts. However, knowledge on the safer approaches to body arts must be carried out through well-planned public education programs organized by the Ghana Health Service especially among the youth in Ghana.

Highlights

Body arts refer to the making of designs on the body or the wearing of special items on the body as a form of visual language (Glover-Thomas, 2020; Schildkrout, 2001)
Regarding the health risks associated with body arts, it was found that 97% stated that body decorating can lead to body cancer and allergic reaction, 83% agreed that body arts can cause pain and excessive bleeding, 95% said body arts can cause nerve damage, 68% said body arts can cause life-threatening bacterial infections and 79% indicated that body arts can lead to blood-borne virus infections like Hepatitis B and HIV
The study contends that a greater section of the Ewe youth has extensive knowledge regarding the cultural significance and health risks of body arts

Summary

Introduction

Body arts refer to the making of designs on the body or the wearing of special items on the body as a form of visual language (Glover-Thomas, 2020; Schildkrout, 2001). Body arts include various forms of modifications on the body such as painting, tattooing, piercing, subdermal implants, surgical modifications, tongue bifurcation or forking, scalpelling, etc. Body arts have gained increasing popularity worldwide. Body art is increasingly accepted by all social classes and age groups, but especially by youths (Stirn, 2013). In Western society, body arts have become mainstream activities among adolescents (12 to 18 years of age) and young adults (18 to 25 years of age) (Montgomery & Parks, 2014). Data show that 20% to 35% of adolescents reported having a body art, while 4% to 6.3% of students had tattoos (Stirn, 2013). As the prevalence of body art has increased, adverse health risks associated with these practices have been documented. Tattoos and body piercing as expressions of individuality, group affiliation or belonging, resistance and control have become a normal and popular practice among adolescents

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