The Impact of Media, Socioeconomic, and Psychological Factors on the Adoption of Aesthetic Technology and Cosmetic Surgery among Women in Punjab, Pakistan
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Background: Interest in aesthetic technology and cosmetic procedures is influenced by social, economic, cultural and psychological factors. Social media may intensify exposure to appearance ideals, although cross-sectional data cannot establish that media exposure causes cosmetic-procedure uptake. Objective: To examine associations between socioeconomic beliefs, media influence, psychological motivations and self-reported inclination toward aesthetic procedures among women in Punjab, Pakistan. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey included 132 women aged 18–50 years from Lahore, Faisalabad and Multan. Convenience sampling was used. Composite socioeconomic, media-influence, psychological and adoption scores were categorized into sample-based tertiles. Associations were evaluated using χ² tests and Cramér's V. Results: Socioeconomic category was associated with adoption inclination, χ²(4)=33.992, p<0.001, V=0.359. Media influence showed a stronger association, χ²(4)=51.266, p<0.001, V=0.441. Psychological-factor category showed the strongest association, χ²(4)=58.173, p<0.001, V=0.469. Age, marital status and education were not significantly associated with the adoption score. Conclusion: Psychological motivations, media influence and socioeconomic beliefs were associated with cosmetic-procedure adoption inclination in this selected sample of socially media-engaged women. The cross-sectional design and selected sampling frame preclude causal or population-level conclusions.
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