hardiness, defense mechanisms, negative self-portrayal scale in applicants and non-applicants of cosmetic surgery

background : today the psychological factor is one of the controversial subjects in tendency to cosmetic surgery. objectives : this study aimed to compare the hardiness, defense mechanisms and negative self-portrayal scale among cosmetic surgery applicants with non-applicants. patients and methods: this causal-comparative study carried out in tehran, iran from april to june 2015. the samples of this study included 60 applicants and non- applicants of cosmetic surgery referred to private clinic for cosmetic surgery in regions one and two in tehran who were selected by convenience sampling. the study tools included defense mechanisms questionnaires and psychological hardiness questionnaires, negative self-portrayal scale questionnaire and a questionnaire of demographic. data was analyzed by analysis of variance  and multivariate tests. results : results of the multivariate analysis of variance test indicated a significant difference between the applicant and the non-applicant of cosmetic surgery in hardiness aspects (control and commitment), defensive styles (matured, immature and neurotic), and negative self-portrayal scale (anxiety signs and physical appearance). conclusions : due to differences between the hardiness, defense mechanisms and negative self-portrayal scale among applicants and non-applicants of cosmetic surgery, it is important to pay much attention to psychological structures before doing cosmetic surgery.