Cosmetic Surgery and Youth Group

Thank goodness.  Researchers agree that teens are “mental and physical works in progress.”  Whew.  At least we have the scientific community on our side.

Meanwhile, cosmetic surgeons continue to alter kids’ bodies each day, to the tune of 77,000 operations per year.¹ Breast augmentation and liposuction are highest on the list, but researchers warn that with constantly-changing bodies, the long-term impact of such surgeries before age 21 can be devastating, both psychologically and physically. One physician-researcher noted, “What we’re doing is taking a very turbulent time in terms of their body image development and permanently changing their bodies.”

One really interesting part of this research recommendation is the issue of “informed consent.”  Can a teenager—or anyone under 25, according to some developmental research—really make an informed decision about altering their appearance in these ways?  The fact that our society puts the opportunity for such decisions in the hands of children under the age of 18 is astounding.  One researcher noted that the pressures from peers and—yes—parents to look perfect can directly or indirectly influence decisions about cosmetic surgery in unhealthy ways (and of course, parents have to consent for surgeries under 18). They also make a distinction between chronological age and developmental age, or actual maturity, in the ability to make decisions.

I think that’s instructive for us in youth ministry. Chronological and developmental age aren’t always in line (uh, middle school jumps out as huge evidence for this principle).  But how can we give kids opportunities now—while they are in our ministries—to learn more about and practice healthy decision-making that will prepare them for the multitude of decisions ahead?  While perhaps a small percentage of our students will contemplate plastic surgery given the costs and associated risks, ALL of them will face decisions outside our ministries that require their developmental age to catch up with their chronological age in big ways.

Especially when they get to college, the ability to make decisions on their own will hit our students squarely between the eyes, and some of our College Transition Project research has shown that anxiety about making decisions is part of what our youth ministry kids pack in their bags when they head off to school.  In one survey, nearly half (48%) of college freshmen agreed that they feel anxious that so much of what they do is up to them to decide.

So, whether it’s about cosmetic surgery or going to this weekend’s party, how are we engaging our students NOW in their decision-making abilities?  What can we do to equip them with skills that help their work-in-progress developmental age appropriately pace with their chronological age to make important life choices?  Sounds like part of the task of discipleship to me.

1. American Society of Plastic Surgeons, 2005 cosmetic surgery age distributions 18 or younger, cited in the American Psychological Association (APA) Report of the Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls, http://www.apa.org/pi/wpo/sexualizationrep.pdf, 2007, 16. [↩]

©2009 Fuller Youth Institute