Multiple meanings of self harm: A critical review (original) (raw)
Related papers
We are all in this together: working towards a holistic understanding of self-harm
Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 2013
• This paper has been informed through systematic literature searches of research databases and core texts on the subject of self-harm. • Despite the increase of self-harm, stigma and misunderstanding surround the issue, which often compound the sense of emotional pain felt by those people who are affected by self-harm.
Women's Studies Female Deliberate Self-Harm: The Women's Perspectives
Women's Studies: An interdisciplinary journal, 2018
Although there has been a great deal of research into self-harm in recent years, in-depth investigation into the experiences of those who engage in this behaviour is still needed. In this article I discuss the findings from interviews with young women who had engaged in deliberate self-harm (particularly non-suicidal self-injury, although some had also made suicide attempts). The understandings of these women, which encompasses initial motivators for self-harm, through to help-seeking and experiences of others' responses, are presented.
Self Harm: Age & Gender – Perception and Reality
This paper looks at how well some of the perceived characteristics of people who self-harm, Age and Gender, fit with the reality of Self Harm in the community. For most non experts, and undoubtedly a few experts as well, the perception of people who self=harm is one of almost exclusively young, teenage, and predominately female. This is not surprising as the language, images and targeting of both press reports, Support and information organisations web sites as well as academic papers reinforce that perception. While it is obviously difficult to fully and accurately understand the demographic makeup of the people who shelf-harm, it is often a secret activity, we can, I suggest, get a first level approximation of the issue from those presenting to hospital emergency departments. Statistics from the south west of England do not support the stereotype that it is teens and young people – 15-29 that are the majority group. In fact the 30-44 age range present at hospital in almost identical numbers with the 45 – 74 age group reaching 50% of the numbers of the younger groups. The same statistics also show only a excess of females presenting in the 15-29 age group but with the gap narrowing in the older age groups I think form this it if fair to say that self-harm impacts both genders and all ages, and while young females do seem to have a higher prevalence of self-harm the statistics do show that the perception of self-harm as a predominantly young female issues is far from the truth.
Young Women's Experiences of Self-harm: Commonalities, Distinctions and Complexities
Though self-harm is a significant problem among young people, the extant literature is somewhat unclear as to the meanings and functions of different forms. Nonetheless, it appears that young women engage in self-harm in general more frequently than any other group. This research explored the narratives of 22 young women who had engaged in both non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicidal behaviour, to examine the meanings of self-harm. The behaviours are distinct insofar as they take different forms and serve different purposes. However, a key contribution of this research is that, in contrast to constructions of self-harming behaviours as occurring on a continuum from the less to more severe with overlapping or confused motivations and intentions, the data suggest a cyclical pattern of behaviour, in which the protagonist moves between NSSI and suicidal behaviour, and NSSI is clearly counter-suicidal. Self-harm is a leading cause of hospitalization for young women, who are markedly more likely to be hospitalized for this behaviour than any other demographic group in New Zealand (the country in which this research was based): 212.0 hospitalizations per 100,000 of population for females aged between 15 and 19 (the age group with the highest rate), compared to 80.8 for males. Overall, women are hospitalized for intentional self-harm at almost twice the rate of men: 1.8:1.0 (Ministry of Health, 2014), although much of the attention of policy-makers has been on men's completed suicide. However, an unknown number of people engage in various forms of self-harm and it is likely that their numbers are substantially greater than those who are Article YouNg 24(1) 17–35
Frontiers in Psychiatry
Engagement in self-harm, defined as intentional self-poisoning or self-injury irrespective of the apparent purpose of the act, is increasing, particularly among girls and young women. Understanding the behavior from the perspective of those who self-harm is, therefore, vital in designing effective interventions and treatments. The current brief research report presents a key theme from an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of the experience of self-harm among eight young women, aged between 18 and 29. The theme Is Self-Harm Bad? concerns the way in which participants both acknowledged and resisted a negative conception of self-harm that was often constructed from other people's attitudes. Three subthemes explore the reasons why participants were reluctant to endorse self-harm as bad: Self-Harm is the Symptom, Self-Harm Works (Until it Doesn't) and Self-Harm is Part of Me. The findings highlight the disparity between the characterization of self-harm as a highly risky b...
Young Women’s Experiences of Self-harm
YOUNG, 2016
Though self-harm is a significant problem among young people, the extant literature is somewhat unclear as to the meanings and functions of different forms. Nonetheless, it appears that young women engage in self-harm in general more frequently than any other group. This research explored the narratives of 22 young women who had engaged in both non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicidal behaviour, to examine the meanings of self-harm. The behaviours are distinct insofar as they take different forms and serve different purposes. However, a key contribution of this research is that, in contrast to constructions of self-harming behaviours as occurring on a continuum from the less to more severe with overlapping or confused motivations and intentions, the data suggest a cyclical pattern of behaviour, in which the protagonist moves between NSSI and suicidal behaviour, and NSSI is clearly counter-suicidal.
International Journal of Mental Health …, 2005
Deliberate self-harm predominantly occurs in women under the age of 30 years. This qualitative case study using feminist methods explored the experiences of three women who each had a long history of self-harming behaviour. Psychoanalytical concepts are used to explore the meaning of the conflicts that these women experience. Emergent themes include: great expectations, I speak but no one hears, sexual naivety meets sexual violence, and redrawing the sexual map. This thematic analysis helps facilitate an insight into what these women are trying to communicate, and provides guidance for mental health professionals to more effectively respond to the challenges of working with women who self-harm.
The Social Dimension of Self-Harm
2019
The term “self-harm” represents a complex and multidimensional issue, which requires an understanding of the term itself as well as its key dimensions. The study presented is an attempt to analyze the concept of self-harm through the perspective of a three-dimensional (somaticpsycho-social/spiritual) model of personality. The main topic of the study is to analyze the social dimension of self-harm. The study shows that self-harm can be understood as a specific form of dialectical self-relationship – very often associated with forms and functions of social learning, self-image, self-punishment, social signaling, and social support.