College women with tattoos most probably belong to the popular circle. They usually boast an unprecedented level of self-confidence and possess courage to defy the norms of a prim and proper lady.

In a new study performed by researchers from Texas Tech University, college women with multiple tattoos were found to have greater self-esteem compared to those who do not. The authors, however, found that it is not all power and poise for these women because the same sets of individuals were also found to have more frequent attempts to kill themselves.

The correlation of social and behavioral factors with individuals choosing to have tattoos is widely varied, perplexing and multi-faceted. In the study, the authors investigated the association between getting a tattoo and various variables such as the type of wearer, the number of tattoos, longing to be unique, differences in genders, religion and sexual activity.

Although having body art is often linked with social aberration, highly apparent tattoos are now heavily observed in the entire spectrum of popular culture - be it in musical artists, athletes, corporate employees and college students.

The study was performed by obtaining information from 2,395 college students across six universities in the United States. All of the participants were then attending undergraduate sociology classes and 82 percent of them are aged between 18 to 20 years old.

The findings of the research show that the female gender is positively related to at least one suicide attempt and depression, but is negatively related to self-esteem and suicide ideation, which according to the authors was paradoxical.

The number of tattoos did not show any relationships with suicide ideation but was found to have a positive association with at least one suicide attempt and depression. Positive correlation was paradoxically noted for self-esteem.

Among the other findings of the study include:

Suicide attempt was positively linked to depression and suicide ideation.

Self-esteem had a negative relationship with depression, suicide attempts and suicide ideation.

Depression was positively associated to suicide attempt but is negatively related to self-esteem.

Suicide ideation had a positive link with suicide attempt and depression, but had a negative relationship with self-esteem.

The results appear to have multiple paradoxical features, which according to study author Jerome Koch is a testament to women's great awareness of their bodies.

"I think women, especially, are more aware of their bodies through, among other things, fat shaming, the cosmetics and plastic surgery industry and hyper-sexualized imagery in media," Koch said.

He further explained that what people are seeing now is a manifestation of that awareness being translated into empowerment. For example, women who have had their breast removed replace the lost body part with an elegant form of art. With this, the team wonders if more tattoos may be women's ways of restoring their sense of self after an emotional loss, as evidenced by suicide attempt.

The study, entitled "Tattoos, gender and well-being among American college students," is a companion paper of Koch's 2010 study, which discovered that people with more tattoos and piercings were more likely to engage in regular marijuana use, commit occasional administration of illegal drugs and have had a history of criminal offense arrest.

"While further research is needed to clarify the time order of a suicide attempt and the acquisition of additional or multiple tattoos, we think efforts at emotional restoration may partially explain our paradoxical findings," the authors closed [pdf].

Photo: Tony Alter | Flickr