Tattoos: Why do we get? What is our attitude?

Background: The inclination to get tattoos has been increasing in our country. While its history depends on the ancient past, feelings and thoughts of tattooed people about tattoos, and their awareness on complications and removal methods has not been investigated completely. Aims: Our aim is to learn the approach of individuals on tattoos and getting tattoos. Settings and Design: We have planned a cross-sectional survey study for tattooed and non-tattooed people. Materials and Methods: Twenty four multiple-choice and one open ended question were prepared for people with tattoos, and seven questions were prepared for people who don't have tattoos. Four questions were common in both groups. Statistical Analysis Used: For statistical analyses, SPSS (IBM Corp. Released 2013. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 22.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp) was used. Statistical significance of the difference between common questions was determined with chi-square test, and the effect of different groups on answering the question was analyzed with Cramér's V test. p values below 0.05 were recognized as statistically significant. Results: About half of people with tattoos had their first tattoo when they were between ages 18-29, and 38.2% had a single tattoo. 16.7% of individuals got their first tattoo below age 18. Women often preferred their wrists and ankles for tattoos, while men preferred arms, neck, legs and trunk. While women preferred to get a tattoo about a loved one, men rather got tattoos to look cool. 37.7% of people who don't have tattoos said they did not get one since they might regret it later, 25.4% stated they did not get one since it did not comply with the rules of their religion. 20.2% did not like seeing tattoos in others. Conclusion: The rate of getting tattoos in minors is higher in our country compared to other countries. The majority of people who want their tattoos to be removed got tattooed when they were minors. There is a higher rate of men than women who want to get their tattoos removed. 4.2% of tattooed people regret their tattoos in the process of getting them. It was observed that tattooed people were not aware of the risk of disease transmission by getting tattooed.