Do Tattoos Signify Mental Disorders?
In a recent study, children were interviewed about their personal knowledge and opinions of tattoos (Houghton, S. & others, 1995). A five year old was asked the question, “If you were out shopping with your mom, what would she say if she saw someone with a tattoo?” He reportedly answered, “…only people like bikies or gangsters get tattoos.” When an even younger child was asked his opinion, he said, “That’s what some people do [have a tattoo] if they think they are really tough.”
Tattooed individuals are much more likely to have school problems compared to their nontattooed peers. Those with amateur tattoos are even more likely to struggle, reporting much lower academic grades. Surprisingly, recent studies have shown that gender, ethnicity, and neighborhood type are not necessarily associated with tattooing (Roberts, T.A., Ryan, S.A., 2002). However, adolescents whose parents had a highschool education or less were more likely to be tattooed, and adolescents whose parents had a college education or more were much less likely to be tattooed. Tattooed individuals are much more likely to attend juvenile detention centers, and inversely, those adolescents in juvenile detention centers are much more likely to walk out with an amateur tattoo that they did not walk in with.
Tattooed adolescents are also much more likely to engage in personally harmful forms of rebellion as compared to their unmarked peers. Sexual promiscuity has a very high correlation with tattooing. A whopping 83% of young people with tattoos report a history of sexual intercourse compared with a measly 36% of nontattooed adolescents. Tattooed adolescents are four times as likely to have lost their virginity than nontattooed adolescents.
RThomas said,
May 16, 2008 at 7:50 pm
That’s a pity. I hope my morals don’t go down hill if I decide to get a tat. I agree with the little kids, bikers have tattoos with “Mom” on them because they are tuff.
Jake Pitts said,
May 16, 2008 at 7:58 pm
hey, I’m kinda confused…is it the fact that these teens have the tatoos that they do these things?…or is the same factors that are the reason that they get the tatoo also the reason that have the sex, do the drugs and other things? It almost sounds as if the simple fact that these individuals are tatted is the reason that they do these things. I believe that a person who has a tatoo gets the tatoo because of the culture that they grew up with (although personally I want a tatoo) and as a result of these experiences as a youth there grades may be lower, there self-esteem may be lower and they might not be blessed with the same opportunitites and circumstances that all of us may have experienced as kids…I feel like i’m judging your paper without ever reading the full thing…I would be greatly interested in finishing the research paper.
jenny said,
May 16, 2008 at 8:04 pm
i’m not sure where you stand on this topic but the fact that people have tatoos though you have good statictics dose not mean that all people who have tatoos are as these statictics say even my pastor and his son have tatoos
mm said,
May 16, 2008 at 8:05 pm
Ummm I just got to read your intro but I think that children do not have a very good perception of the reason behind why people get tattoos. They cannot judge someone by what is on their body. They have to understand the stories behind the tattoos.
rileyd said,
May 19, 2008 at 10:00 pm
Although I’m not a huge fan of tattoos, I don’t think that they are the cause of adolescent rebellion. I can see that people who are rebellious may get tattoos, but just because you see someone with a tattoo doesnt mean you can automatically assume they are bad or rebellious people, because I known people that have tattoos who are super good people…
Zach said,
May 20, 2008 at 7:25 pm
I don’t believe that just because you have a tatoo makes you a bad person. If i went out right this very second and got a tatoo does that mean that I would suddenly get the urge to go have unprotected or premarital sex or drink and get thrown in juvy? No. I know plenty of people that have tatoos that are upstanding citizens and (by human standards) good people. I personally want a tatoo of a beaver on my shoulder blade. I think that you researched your statistics well, however I think that the person defines the person they are and not by what is on their bodies. (but when I look at people with tats I do agree that people can be overly obsessive.)
Kris said,
May 20, 2008 at 7:26 pm
I honestly think this is a stereotype. I see it as you saying that people who have tattoos are rough, uneducated people that are involved in sexual activity and get into a lot of trouble. You wouldn’t think the same thing if educated people had tattoos. If everyone started getting their bellybuttons pierced, you couldn’t say that only a certain type of person got their bellybutton pierced would you? I don’t think the tatted indiviuals are any different than the individuals without tattoos, besides the fact that they have some body art. Drugs, sex, abuse, and other harmful activies will happen, regardless of a tattoo or not. Like.. are you trying to show others what the affects of having a tattoo are?….. Sorry I’d really like to read the rest of your paper to fully get your point.
Mrs. Gillmore said,
May 21, 2008 at 4:45 am
To those who commented…notice the copyright date of the info in the post above. Over twenty years have passed, and perceptions have greatly changed towards tattoos. Right?
Ask kids today what they think of tattoos…would we receive the same answer?
chutch2010 said,
May 22, 2008 at 1:45 pm
WOAH now, everybody. Keep your pants on. For the record, I want four tattoos myself. The point of this paper was not to slam anybody with a tattoo (the majority of my closest friends have them). I chose a controversial topic and reaped the results, obviously. I don’t truly think that anyone with a tattoo is automatically a terrible person because I know better. But, I do think the statistics prove that there is definitely a strong enough correlation between “bad behaviour” and tattooing for a few assumptions to be made. Ms. Gillmore’s comment is also very correct. When these statistics were taken, people’s ideas on tattoos were very different than they are today. When I wrote this paper, I wrote it without any personal biases. These are just statistics that I thought were pretty interesting. Don’t shoot the messenger.