04/09/2026
BODY MODIFICATION, MENTAL HEALTH & POLITICAL ORIENTATION: THE NUMBERS 2026
Data and research compiled by Roy Harris, CEO of CMHP, Community Mental Health and Psychiatry Foundation
The purpose of presenting this research is not to stereotype or judge individuals, but to present published scientific findings and the statistical patterns identified in the research.
The statistical pattern is difficult to ignore.
In a U.S. study of 3,033 adults, 10.0% of tattooed people reported bipolar disorder compared with just 4.3% of people without tattoos, more than DOUBLE. Moderate to severe depression was 35.3% among tattooed adults versus 22.9% among non tattooed adults. Anxiety was 32.0% versus 20.2%, and insomnia 28.8% versus 18.2%.
Among borderline personality disorder patients, those with the most extensive body modification, multiple piercings plus significant tattoo coverage, averaged 18.14 incidents of non suicidal self injury compared with only 6.94 among those with no body modifications, approximately 2.6 TIMES as many. Their emotional dysregulation score was also dramatically higher, 78.5 versus 55.37.
Another study of 2,395 college students found that women with four or more tattoos reported previous su***de attempts at FOUR TIMES the rate of women with fewer or no tattoos.
The differences also extend into attention, impulsivity and emotional regulation. A study of 762 adults without diagnosed ADHD found significantly greater ADHD symptoms among people with body modifications. The association was particularly strong with non ear piercings. People with piercings had approximately 2.6 TIMES the odds of screening positive for ADHD, and having two or more piercings produced medium to large differences in ADHD symptom scores. The researchers also found higher hyperactivity, impulsivity and, particularly with piercings, inattention scores.
There is also limited research examining intelligence. An earlier controlled study comparing tattooed and non tattooed prison inmates found that the tattooed inmates had significantly lower IQ scores, fewer completed school grades and substantially more impulsiveness, hostility, depression, social deviance and prison rule violations. Smaller research from Croatia has also reported lower cognitive scores among people with tattoos or piercings. These IQ findings come from small and specialized samples, so they should not be treated as population wide IQ estimates, but they form another reported difference in the research literature.
And the pattern extends into politics. A 2026 study of American adults specifically examined tattoos, piercings and unnatural hair colors such as pink, green, blue, purple and yellow. Unnatural hair color significantly predicted a more left wing political orientation, even after controlling for psychiatric diagnoses and demographic factors. Certain specific piercings, particularly septum piercings, also showed substantial associations with left wing orientation.
So the central point remains: across multiple studies and different populations, extensive tattoos, multiple piercings and other unconventional appearance markers have been statistically associated with substantially elevated rates of depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, self harm, emotional dysregulation, impulsivity, attention difficulties and other high risk behaviors. Some research has additionally reported differences in measured intelligence and political and cultural orientation.
These are measured statistical associations, not somebody’s opinion.
