Abstract
Background: Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), once known as dysmorphophobia, is a mental disorder in
which the person afflicted is engrossed with an imagined imperfection in their appearance that is actually
normal or is very minor.
Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted in Karachi at Ziauddin University targeting female
students between the ages of 17– 25, using an adapted questionnaire which was used to diagnose BDD and
determine the role of media in influencing their self-image.
Results: Out of the 180 students included in this study, at least 9.4% were highly concerned about one or
more than one physical attributes, while 2.8% showed extreme concern. 6.1% met the DSM-V criteria for BDD.
The most frequent foci of concern were: Being too fat or too thin (35%), skin (24.4%), hair (15%), teeth (14%)
and nose (14%). 24.4% of the students got sad/angry/depressed because of their appearance .The study
also showed that 42% of the subjects spent 1-2 hours watching television every day, and 13.9% watching 3-7
hours of television per day. 46.7% also regularly visit entertainment/beauty websites or read entertainment
magazines. 22.8% were extremely satisfied with their appearance, as opposed to 4.4% which were extremely
dissatisfied.
Conclusion: Our results show that BDD is widespread amongst female college students. The body features of
concern were recognized and the influence that media, either through the use of beauty magazines or
television/movies on self-image was estimated.
Hira Ali, Syed Arbab Shah, Farah Ahmad, Syed Hasan Danish, Kiran Azam, Faiza Mir, Wajiha Rehman. (2017) The Frequency Of Body Dysmorphic Disorder In Female University Students, The Pakistan Journal of Medicine and Dentistry, Volume-6, Issue-1.
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