Researchers at Anglia Ruskin University looked into whether the fact body art had become more mainstream³ in recent years - a trend influenced by the likes of footballer legend David Beckham and pop star Cheryl Fernandez-Versini - had affected⁴ traditional stereotypes⁵.

 

They found that tattooed⁶ individuals reported significantly higher levels of verbal aggression⁷, anger and rebelliousness⁸ compared with non-tattooed adults.

 

Professor Viren Swami, professor of social psychology⁹ at the university, said: "One explanation is that people who have higher reactive rebelliousness may respond to disappointing and frustrating¹⁰ events by getting tattooed.

 

"That is, when these individuals experience a negative emotional event, they may be more likely to react by pursuing an act that is seen as defiant¹¹.

 

"The act of tattooing¹² is perceived as rebellious, or more generally tattoos themselves can signify defiance¹³ or dissent¹⁴."

 

She added that the study of 378 adults aged¹⁵ between 20 and 58 found that those with tattoos scored higher in terms of verbal aggression and anger.

 

"Although tattoos have now become commonplace in modern British society, our findings may have implications for understanding the reported associations between tattooing and risky¹⁶ behaviour among adults," she said.

 

The research, to be published in the next edition of the journal Body Image, also showed a correlation¹⁷ between the number of tattoos a person had and their levels of anger.

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