Perception of Tattoo’s among College Students
Kameron Miller and Dr. Robert Lindsey, Department of Health and Human Performance, Johnson C. Smith University, SHAPE America Conference, April 6, 2017
Abstract
• . College students face significant developmental challenges through their 4 years
of higher educational experiences. It is a time of physical, psychological, and
emotional changes, transitioning from being a teenager to becoming an adult.
Normally tattoos have given wearers a rough and rugged stigma (Armstrong, 2000;
Sperry, 1990). In this study you will find out that Tattoos are more commonly
associated with inner feelings and attitudes of an individuals’ self-expression.
• A convenient sample of students from classes in the Department of Health and
Human Performance at a small southeastern private historically black college and
university were utilized in the study. Data was be collected using a modified
version of the Tattoo Influence Survey (Varno & Travis, 2013). The survey contains
25 questions in which the first four questions are the demographics: classification,
age, gender, and race.
• ” Chi square analysis were used to determine the difference between demographic
categories and the Tattoos and the Influence on college students questions.
Students reported a mean of 3.86 to Question 20, “ I feel that tattoos are socially
accepted among college students.” Students reported a mean of 3.46 to Question
24, “ Employers form negative judgments about job candidates with tattoos.”
Background
• Managers have taken a defensive posture on this issue. Surveys of human
resource managers and recruiters consistently report that job applicants with
visible tattoos are less likely to be hired (Swanger, 2006; Personnel Today,
2007).
• The link between employee appearance and customer prediction of service
performance is believed to occur through an evaluation of service provider
competence (Willis & Todorov, 2006).
Research Hypotheses
1.) There was no significant difference between gender and their
perception of Tattoos.
2.) There was no significant difference between classification and
their perception of Tattoos.
Methods and Data Analysis Results
• Participants were African American college students in the Department of Health
and Human Performance.
• Data was collected using a modified version of the Scale of Self-Efficacy (Kroll et
all., 2007).
• Responses to the questions included the following: 1 = Strongly Disagree, 2 =
Disagree, 3 = Neutral, 4 = Agree, and 5 = Strongly Agree
• Sample questions on the questionnaire included the following: I can be physically
active or exercise if I had no access to a gym, exercise, training, or rehabilitation
facility, I can motivate myself to start being physically active or exercising again
after I've stopped for a while, and I can be physically active or exercise even when I
am tired.
• The variables of the study were the following;
• Independent variable: Demographics
• Dependent variable: Perception of Self-Efficacy among College Students.
• Chi square analysis were used to determine the difference between demographic
categories and the Tattoos and the Influence on college students questions.
• The data was analyzed using .05 level of significance. The SPSS program was
used to perform the statistical analysis.
Results
References
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