THE (LIMITED) EFFECT OF PSYCHO-EDUCATION ON WOMEN'S ATTITUDES TO LABIAPLASTY

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event THE (LIMITED) EFFECT OF PSYCHO-EDUCATION ON WOMEN'S ATTITUDES TO LABIAPLASTY Shauna Byrne1*, Desirée Kozlowski1 and Stephen Provost1 1 Southern Cross University, Psychology, School of Health and Human Sciences, Australia Aims: Despite a lack of data on the complications associated with labiaplasty, demand for the surgery has been increasing at least since 2005. However, between 2014 and 2015 there was a 28% decrease in labial surgeries funded by Australian Medicare. This drop has been attributed to guidelines recommending general practitioners provide education to women seeking surgery. Whether this decrease reflects the efficacy of education or is the result of clients instead undergoing labiaplasty within the private system, is unclear. This study investigated the effect of psycho-education about genital diversity and the possible complications of labiaplasty on women’s genital appearance satisfaction and their attitudes towards labiaplasty.Method: Female participants (N= 483; mean age = 30.78) were allocated to either the labiaplasty psycho-education (N= 237) or control condition (N= 246) of the online experiment. Participants completed the Genital Appearance Satisfaction Scale and the Acceptance of Cosmetic Surgery Scale – Labiaplasty. Participants in the experimental group were provided with psycho-education before completing the other measures; the control group received psycho-education afterwards. Results: Women’s genital appearance satisfaction was significantly related to their acceptance of labiaplasty r(483) = .58, p < .001. Labiaplasty psycho-education had no effect on women’s satisfaction with their genital appearance, t(481) = .33, p = .742. It was associated with a modest reduction in women’s conceptual acceptance of labiaplasty (CI: -0.37, -0.01), but not on the extent to which they would personally consider having the surgery. Conclusions: Despite receiving education on the possible negative outcomes of labiaplasty and the diversity in female genital appearance, women’s subjective dissatisfaction with their own genital appearance appears to be the main driver of their attitudes towards undergoing labiaplasty. The efficacy of education to deter women from undergoing unnecessary labial surgery is thus, and not for the first time, brought into question. Keywords: Education, media, body image, Labiaplasty, Labia, female genitals, Genital dissatisfaction, Labial Reduction Surgery Conference: Southern Cross University 13th Annual Honours Psychology Research Conference, Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia, 7 Oct - 7 Oct, 2016. Presentation Type: Research Topic: Psychology Citation: Byrne S, Kozlowski D and Provost S (2016). THE (LIMITED) EFFECT OF PSYCHO-EDUCATION ON WOMEN'S ATTITUDES TO LABIAPLASTY. Front. Public Health. Conference Abstract: Southern Cross University 13th Annual Honours Psychology Research Conference. doi: 10.3389/conf.FPUBH.2016.02.00004 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 29 Sep 2016; Published Online: 30 Sep 2016. * Correspondence: Ms. Shauna Byrne, Southern Cross University, Psychology, School of Health and Human Sciences, Coffs Harbour, NSW, 2450, Australia, s.byrne.17@student.scu.edu.au Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Shauna Byrne Desirée Kozlowski Stephen Provost Google Shauna Byrne Desirée Kozlowski Stephen Provost Google Scholar Shauna Byrne Desirée Kozlowski Stephen Provost PubMed Shauna Byrne Desirée Kozlowski Stephen Provost Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.