The prospect of buying a bikini can be so stressful for women it fills them with dread, a new study has found.
The Flinders University study involving 102 graduate women confirmed swimsuit shopping increased feelings of negativity in women and could worsen a bad mood, The Advertiser reports.
University professor and psychologist Marika Tiggemann, who headed the study, said that for women aged 18 to 29, imagining putting on a bikini made them feel worse than the thought of wearing a pair of jeans.
"It appears that the wearing of bathers is a negative and stressful experience for most women, most likely because so few women can match the current ... thin beauty ideal," the study's authors wrote.
The authors also placed part of the blame on changing rooms in clothing stores.
The dressing rooms, which generally include mirrors and bright lights, often contributed to a negative shopping experience, they said.
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