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. 2008 Apr 9;8:20. doi: 10.1186/1471-244X-8-20

Table 2.

Frequency of reported symptoms in male and female students

RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS ADDRESSING SYMPTOMS* TOTAL (n = 156) MALES (n = 67) FEMALES (n = 89) p-value§
% % %

Q1. Are you in a habit of compulsive mirror checking or compulsively glancing at your image in reflective surfaces (e.g. windows, doors)?
 1. Never 20.5 25.4 16.9 0.419
 2. Occasionally to moderately often 56.4 52.2 59.6
 3. Very often to extremely often 23.1 22.4 23.6
Q2. Do you compulsively touch your physical "defect"?
 1. Never 46.2 46.3 46.1 0.063
 2. Occasionally to moderately often 42.9 49.3 38.2
 3. Very often to extremely often 10.9 4.5 15.7
Q3. Have you tried to conceal/hide your physical "defect"? (e.g. make up, scarves, clothing, beard)
 1. Never 40.4 50.7 32.6 0.057
 2. Occasionally to moderately often 44.2 34.3 51.7
 3. Very often to extremely often 15.4 14.9 15.7
Q4. Have you ever measured your physical "defect" against people around you?
 1. Never 26.9 31.3 23.6 0.153
 2. Occasionally to moderately often 54.5 56.7 52.8
 3. Very often to extremely often 18.6 11.9 23.6
Q5. Have you ever compared your physical "defect" with people in magazines or on television?
 1. Never 23.1 34.3 14.6 0.009
 2. Occasionally to moderately often 53.2 41.8 61.8
 3. Very often to extremely often 23.7 23.9 23.6
Q6. Do these concerns about your physical "defect" make you avoid doing certain things? (e.g. looking into a mirror, getting photographed, avoiding social gatherings)
 1. Never 46.2 46.3 46.1 0.888
 2. Occasionally to moderately often 47.4 46.3 48.3
 3. Very often to extremely often 6.4 7.5 5.6

* In the questionnaire, each question had 5 graded responses: 1) Never 2) Occasionally 3) Moderately often 4) Very often 5) Extremely often. These 5 responses have been collapsed to 3 to allow better interpretation.

§ Chi-square was applied here to find significant differences in foci of concern among male and female subjects.