Journal of Women Interdisciplinary Researches

Abstract The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between body shame and problematic use of social networking sites, considering the mediating role of perfectionism, among female applicants for cosmetic surgery in Shiraz in the year 2025. This study employed a descriptive-survey design based on structural equation modeling (SEM). The statistical population consisted of all female applicants for cosmetic surgery who visited beauty clinics in Shiraz during 2025. Out of this population, a total of 257 participants were selected using a non-random purposive sampling method and completed the Body Shame Scale (Littleton), the Perfectionism Scale (Hill), and the Social Networking Addiction Questionnaire (Khaje Ahmadi) through both paper-based forms and online surveys. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive and inferential statistics, with Pearson’s correlation coefficient employed to examine the relationships between variables, and SPSS 27 and AMOS 26 software used for final analysis. The findings indicated that body image shame positively and significantly predicted problematic social networking use (B = 0.202). Furthermore, perfectionism had a significant positive relationship with problematic use of social networking sites and predicted it to some extent (B = 0.097). In addition, body image shame had a positive and significant relationship with perfectionism, predicting it with a coefficient of (B = 0.091). The path analysis results supported the main hypothesis of the study, indicating that perfectionism plays a significant mediating role in the relationship between body shame and problematic social networking site use. Accordingly, individuals who are dissatisfied with their body image or experience body shame are more likely to engage in excessive and harmful use of social networking platforms, and individuals with perfectionistic tendencies are also more likely to develop problematic social networking behaviors. Therefore, perfectionism can act as an intermediate factor that amplifies the impact of body shame on problematic social media use and intensifies individuals’ negative perceptions of their bodies, ultimately leading to excessive and unproductive engagement with social media. Based on these findings, the main research hypothesis was confirmed.