Attitude and Perception to Tattoos and Scarified Skin Marks in Makurdi, North Central Nigeria

Aim: Tattoo art which has been practiced all over the world for centuries is undergoing a revolution. Some people like it, others don’t. The aim of the study was to estimate the prevalence of tattooing among students and residents of Makurdi, like or dislike, who gave consent before tattooing, symbolism/motive of tattooing and whom to go to for removal of tattoos.

Study Design: A survey research using structured questionnaire as instrument for data collection among students of Benue State University and residents of Makurdi over a period of one month in January, 2017.

Methodology: Views of one hundred and seventy two residents and students in Makurdi, North Central Nigeria, were collated via a pre-tested structured questionnaire and analyzed on the basis of sex, age, like/dislike of tattoos, symbolism, consent given, whether one would tattoo himself if given a chance and what to do when one got tired of tattoos.

Results: Two hundred and ten questionnaires were administered and one hundred and seventy two were returned giving attrition rate of 18.1%. All returned questionnaires were completely filled. One hundred and seventy two respondents participated in the study comprising 123 males and 49 females giving a male to female ratio of 2.5:1. Twenty one respondents had tattoos giving a tattoo prevalence of 12.2%. One hundred and thirty eight (80.2%) did not like tattoos and forty two (24.4%) indicated that there was no significance to symbolism of tattoos and indeed thirty (17.4%) felt tattoos are a body mutilation. One hundred and fifty one (87.8%) indicated they will not have tattoos when given a chance to do so. Ninety seven (56.4%) believed the best person to go to for tattoo removal is a Plastic Surgeon.

Conclusion: The study showed that majority of students and residents of Makurdi metropolis in Nigeria do not like tattoos and would not like to have one when given a chance to do so. A large scale study involving other parts of Nigeria needs to be done to assess a true like/dislike of tattoos in this environment.