The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Israel Center for Addiction and Mental Health have conducted a study surveying 1,614 Jewish Hebrew-speaking women in Israel, between the ages of 25 and 71.
Women Tend to Be Addicted to Cosmetic Procedures More Often Than Gambling
The study looked into compulsive habits among the surveyed demographics, and specifically in relation to cosmetic procedures, with researchers finding something staggering – women in the demographic were more likely to be addicted to these procedures than, say, gambling.
Out of the surveyed respondents, 710 said that they had undergone at least one cosmetic procedure. In this specific group, 20% of those showed moderate-to-severe risk of addiction to cosmetic procedures, as opposed to 6.8% for all women surveyed.
However, this rate is higher than the women who appear to be at a moderate-to-high risk of developing gambling addiction, based on information from separate studies.
The percentages were further broken down in the researchers’ analysis, including 15.4% of the 710 women experiencing signs of addictive behavior towards cosmetic procedures. Researchers also looked into other important factors that may influence riskier behavior towards cosmetic procedures.
Among those factors were views on feminism and gender roles, self-esteem, relationship security, body image, and others.
Interestingly, among women who have done cosmetic procedures, 1 in 5 showed signs of addictive behavior over their lifetime. The risk of addictive behavior increased for women who spent more time on social media or had a negative body image.
Addictive Behavior – Anecdotal Outcomes
Women have been known to go to great lengths to fund their addictive behavior, as have men, of course. Yet, it’s the story of a 33-year-old woman who married more than a dozen men to fuel her gambling addiction.
The woman was eventually caught by authorities and pleaded guilty. Prosecutors claim she married 14 men in total to get her hands on over $300,000 that she used on her hobby.
A similarly anecdotal story was produced when a Thai woman seduced nine Buddhist monks and then blackmailed them for money to again fund her gambling habit.