Cosmetic procedure attitudes scale (CPAS): Development and validation

The pursuit of cosmetic procedures has become increasingly normalized, particularly among women and younger consumers, yet existing measures of cosmetic procedure attitudes remain limited. This research developed and validated two new scales assessing attitudes toward surgical and non-surgical procedures. In Study 1, an initial item pool was generated through focus groups and expert consultations. In Study 2, 373 women (M = 22.81, SD = 5.46) completed an online questionnaire assessing attitudes toward surgical (S) and non-surgical (NS) procedures. Exploratory factor analysis supported a three-factor structure; intrapersonal, interpersonal, and consideration, for both the 20-item surgical (CPAS-S) and 19-item non-surgical (CPAS-NS) scales. In Study 3, a new sample of 350 women (M = 21.86, SD = 4.72) completed the refined CPAS items and related psychological constructs. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the refined 16-item versions of both scales (CPAS-S and CPAS-NS). The scales demonstrated convergent, divergent, and incremental validity and showed strong test-retest reliability and agreement (N = 75, M = 21.39, SD = 4.23). For all three studies, most participants were recruited in Australia, with some recruited internationally via Prolific. Collectively, these studies provide support for contemporary, psychometrically robust tools for assessing attitudes toward surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures and their links with appearance-related concerns.