Table 2.
Characteristics of tattoos among tattooed persons attending a student run free-clinic, stratified by police/army harassment or assault in Tijuana in the past 6 months, Tijuana, Mexico, 2013 (N= 286).
| Assaulted or harassed by police/army in the past 6 months | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall N (%) |
No 147 (39%) |
Yes 139 (61%) |
P-value | Univariate Odds Ratio | 95% Confidence Interval | |
| Tattoo Characteristics | ||||||
| Mean number of tattoos (SD) | 6 (9.9) | 5 (10.15) | 6 (9.68) | 0.003 | 1.01 | 0.99–1.04 |
| Has visible tattoo (e.g., hands, face, neck, arms) | 107 (37%) | 85 (47%) | 54 (50%) | 0.625 | 1.12 | 0.69–1.81 |
| Iconography | ||||||
| Religious (e.g., Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ, Crucifix) | 47 (16%) | 16 (11%) | 31 (22%) | 0.009 | 2.35 | 1.22–4.52 |
| Names | 152 (53%) | 80 (54%) | 72 (52%) | 0.657 | 0.90 | 0.56–1.43 |
| Phrases | 78 (27%) | 44 (30%) | 34 (24%) | 0.299 | 0.75 | 0.44–1.27 |
| Animals | 48 (17%) | 26 (18%) | 22 (16%) | 0.674 | 0.87 | 0.46–1.63 |
| Nature | 54 (19%) | 25 (17%) | 29 (21%) | 0.405 | 1.28 | 0.71–2.32 |
| Skulls | 23 (8%) | 8 (5%) | 15 (11%) | 0.096 | 2.10 | 0.86–5.12 |
| Weapons | 6 (2%) | 2 (1%) | 4 (3%) | 0.371 | 2.14 | 0.38–11.91 |
| Gang-membership (e.g., gang name, symbol, or logo) | 18 (6%) | 6 (4%) | 12 (9%) | 0.113 | 2.22 | 0.80–6.08 |
| Sentiments about Tattoos | ||||||
| Does not care/dislikes some/all tattoos (vs. likes a lot/is proud of tattoos) | 173 (60%) | 89 (61%) | 84 (60%) | 0.984 | 0.96 | 0.61–1.59 |
| Would like to remove all/some tattoos (vs. not) | 161 (56%) | 77 (52%) | 84 (60%) | 0.170 | 1.38 | 0.86–2.22 |
| Would be interested in a free tattoo removal service at the clinic | 197 (69%) | 98 (67%) | 99 (71%) | 0.406 | 1.23 | 0.74–2.04 |
| Has experienced barriers to employment in Tijuana as a result of being tattooed | 88 (30%) | 40 (27%) | 48 (35%) | 0.192 | 1.39 | 0.84–2.31 |
| Believes removal of tattoos will help secure employment in Tijuana | 157 (56%) | 74 (52%) | 83 (60%) | 0.176 | 1.38 | 0.86–2.22 |