Non-suicidal Self-injury

Paper Summary:

This paper takes a look at self-injurious behaviors without suicidal intent among adolescents and college students. The author provides statistics that show the incidence and prevalence of self-injury but cautions that the surveys and studies that have been done are usually of relatively small sample sizes. The paper discusses several risk factors that might contribute to self-injuring behavior in young adults, such as childhood trauma or disrupted emotional development due to an invalidating environment. The paper also speculates that the increased media attention to this problem, though creating awareness, might also be glamorizing self-injurious behaviors by the "goth" and "emo" teen and young adult subcultures.

From the Paper:

"Non-suicidal self-injury is the intentional act of causing physical harm to the self, committed without suicidal intent. Self-injurious behaviors (SIB) can range from the most common methods of self-mutilation, such as cutting and burning the skin, to pulling hair or pinching/slapping. For the purposes of the examination herein, socially acceptable forms of mutilation such as cosmetic piercing and tattoos are not included in the scope of self-injurious behaviors. The incidence of socially deviant self-harm among adolescents and young adults, particularly those in a college population, has been on the increase. In addition, awareness of self-harming behaviors has become a focus in the media. This new level of attention has had two distinct and contradictory effects: one is an increased effort to understand and help those suffering with the condition; the other, a glamorization of self-injurious behaviors by the "goth" and "emo" teen and young adult subcultures."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Brown, M, Comtois, K, Linehan, M. (2005). Reasons for suicide attempts and nonsuicidal self- injury in women with borderline personality disorder. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 111, 198-202.
• Brown University (2004). Wounds, scars, and the visibility of self-injury. Child and Adolescent Behavior Newsletter.
• Claes, Vandereycken & Vertommen (2005). Self-care versus self-harming: Piercing, tattooing and self-injuring in eating disorders. European Eating Disorders Review, 13, 11-18.
• Derouin A., Bravender T. (2004). Living on the edge: the current phenomenon of self- mutilation in adolescents. MCN American Journal of Maternal Child Nursing, 29,2-18.
• Gratz, K. (2006). Risk factors for deliberate self-harm among female college students:The role and interaction of childhood maltreatment, emotional inexpressivity, and affect intensity/reactivity. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 7, 238-250.

More papers on Non-suicidal Self-injury:

• Research Paper # 135925 : "Self Injurious Behavior"
• Research Paper # 29677 : "Self-Injurious Behavior"
• Term Paper # 146320 : "Self-Harm Behaviors in Adolescents"

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