| Abstract [eng] |
Higher School Students’ Attitudes to Tattoo SUMMARY Object under study: students’ attitudes to tattoo. Purpose: investigation into students’ attitudes to tattoo. Participants: 401 students from four universities in Vilnius. Age: 18-26 years (mean: 21 years). The Armstrong Tattoo Team Attitude Survey was used to carry out the study. To analyse the data, participants were divided into four groups: tattooed students (36), non-tattooed students (365), girls (255), and boys (146). The findings showed that participants’ attitudes to tattoo were positive. Hypotheses that the attitudes differed by (a) gender and (b) tattoo presence/absence were corroborated. Most non-tattooed participants expected negative remarks from their family should they get a tattoo; most tattooed participants expected to develop local skin irritation should they get another tattoo. Girls, compared to boys, were more inclined to believe that they would develop local sensitivity to sunrays and skin irritation should they get a tattoo; boys – that they would experience negative reaction from people and multiple inconvenience. Data analysis showed that the purpose of getting a tattoo differed in terms of (A) tattoo presence/absence, and (B) gender. Most tattooed and non-tattooed participants thought that should they decide to get a/another tattoo that would be a thing “to honour a festive occasion”. However the second purpose differed: non-tattooed students thought that a tattoo would help to “express oneself” while tattooed ones – that a tattoo would help them to “feel unique”. Tattooed participants were more inclined to think that a tattoo would be useful (change one’s life, help feel good; help people see who they actually are; raise their self-esteem). Most girls stated that should they decide to get a/another tattoo, that would be a thing “to honour a festive occasion”. Most boys thought that should they get a/another tattoo that would help them to express their selfves. Other findings include: (1) tattooed participants assess a tattooed individual higher than non-tattooed ones; (2) in contrast to our expectations, all girls and all boys give equally positive assessment to a tattooed individual; (3) non-tattooed girls, compared to non-tattooed boys, give more positive assessment to a tattooed individual; (4) there is no link between participants’ religious sentiment and their interest in tattoo; and between inclination to get a tattoo and assessment given to a tattooed individual. The findings and conclusions may contribute to further development of investigation into tattoo and tattoo risk prevention. |
