The Trending of Self-Harm Among Adolescent Females
The Trending of Self-Harm Among Adolescent Females
Kellin Murphy Cavanaugh
The University of Saint Joseph
Problem Statement
According to Morgan (1979), the 1960’s and 1970’s presented an up trend in self-harm, mostly in adolescent females. Over the decades, this up trend Morgan described has maintained a steady incline. This steady incline raises the question: how are adolescent females discovering this coping mechanism? According to Adler and Adler (2011) it seems that the news of self-harm travels by word of mouth in friend circles, as well as popular and social media. This source also states that these social interactions have helped establish a means for coping to evolve into a form of self-expression and even competition. Via forums, cafeteria conversations, and fiction, participants are granted the choice to remain anonymous or perhaps stand center stage with their habits (Adler & Adler 2011). These mostly unregulated venues pose a second question for those in the counseling profession. Counselors should ask themselves if it is possible that self-harm is developing into another form of self-expression while still acting as a release for the individual committing the act. Craigen and Foster (2012) are careful to acknowledge how similar the act of self-harm is to socially acceptable forms of body modification such as ear piercing, tattoos and eyebrow tweezing. What these practices have in common is that they provide a desirable end through tolerance of a painful means. Craigen and Foster acknowledge the differences between each practice. However, they suggest that perhaps individuals with extreme amounts of body tattoos and/or piercings could be trying to satisfy the same urges as an individual who is a frequent self-injurer.
The purpose of this paper is to explore the act of self-harm as a growing trend amongst adolescents, specifically female, so that we can better understand what this widespread epidemic may turn into in the future. In this
Kellin Murphy Cavanaugh
The University of Saint Joseph
Problem Statement
According to Morgan (1979), the 1960’s and 1970’s presented an up trend in self-harm, mostly in adolescent females. Over the decades, this up trend Morgan described has maintained a steady incline. This steady incline raises the question: how are adolescent females discovering this coping mechanism? According to Adler and Adler (2011) it seems that the news of self-harm travels by word of mouth in friend circles, as well as popular and social media. This source also states that these social interactions have helped establish a means for coping to evolve into a form of self-expression and even competition. Via forums, cafeteria conversations, and fiction, participants are granted the choice to remain anonymous or perhaps stand center stage with their habits (Adler & Adler 2011). These mostly unregulated venues pose a second question for those in the counseling profession. Counselors should ask themselves if it is possible that self-harm is developing into another form of self-expression while still acting as a release for the individual committing the act. Craigen and Foster (2012) are careful to acknowledge how similar the act of self-harm is to socially acceptable forms of body modification such as ear piercing, tattoos and eyebrow tweezing. What these practices have in common is that they provide a desirable end through tolerance of a painful means. Craigen and Foster acknowledge the differences between each practice. However, they suggest that perhaps individuals with extreme amounts of body tattoos and/or piercings could be trying to satisfy the same urges as an individual who is a frequent self-injurer.
The purpose of this paper is to explore the act of self-harm as a growing trend amongst adolescents, specifically female, so that we can better understand what this widespread epidemic may turn into in the future. In this
References: Adler, Patricia and Peter Adler (2011) The tender cut: inside the hidden world of self-injury. New York: New York University Press. Bordo, Susan (1993) Unbearable weight: feminism, western culture and the body. Berkeley: University of California Press. Brickman, Barbara (2004) ‘Delicate cutters: gendered self-mutilation and attractive flesh in medical discourse’, Body & Society 10: 87 – 111. Conterio, Karen and Wendy Lader (1998) Bodily harm: the breakthrough healing program for self-injurers. New York: Hyperion. Craigen, Laurie Marie and Victoria Foster (2012) Self-injurious behavior: an emerging phenomenon Favazza, Armando R. (1996) Bodies under siege: self-mutilation and body modification in culture and psychiatry. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. Greenwald, Andy (2003) Nothing feels good: punk rock, teenagers and emo Grunebaum, Henry U. and Klerman, Gerald L. (1967) ‘Wrist slashing’, The American Journal of Psychiatry 36: 527 – 34. Lack, Tony (1995)Consumer society and authenticity: the (il)logic of punk practices. Undercurrent 3, October. Originally published at http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~ucurrent/uc3/ 3-lack.html. Morgan, Howard (1979) Death wishes? The understanding and management of self-harm. New York: Wiley Rogers, A.G Sands, Sarah (2006) EMO cult warning for parents. Daily Mail, August 16. http://dailymail.co.uk /pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=400953&in_page_id=1770. Walsh, Barent W. (2008) Treating self-injury: a practical guide. New York: Guilford. Wilkins, Amy C. (2008) Wannabes, goths, and christians: the boundaries of sex, style and status. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.