Journal of Counseling Research

Aim: The present study aimed to qualitatively evaluate the personality characteristics of young women who had used Rhinoplasty, which is a plastic surgery done on the nose. Method: The statistical population for this research included all female social sciences students at Razi University who were enrolled in 2015. For this purpose, 30 students who had undergone this surgery (treatment group) and 30 who had not received it (control group) were selected as purposeful sampling (total of 60). For collecting relevant data, semi-structured interviews were utilized and data was analyzed through phenomenological approach. Results: Following the interviews, content analysis, and coding process, five main indicators were extracted: Self-esteem, social interaction, aggression, body image, and differentiation. The results showed that self-esteem and differentiation in both groups were at an acceptable level and did not have much difference, while social interaction and satisfaction with body image in subjects in the control group was significantly higher in the treatment group than the control group. The results also indicated that levels of aggression seemed to be higher in women who had done rhinoplasty compared with those who had not undergone this type of surgery. Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, it can be recommended that increasing social interaction skills of applicants for rhinoplasty, and improving their body-image, can likely help in preventing performance of unnecessary surgeries.