Voices of Injury and Harm: The Folk Psychology of Self-Injury and a Narrative Analysis of Online Forums
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Authors
Geister-Danvile, Emily
Issue Date
2010
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
The tendencies and folk psychology of self-injury were studied through the analysis of
online forums and personal memoirs. The majority of individuals who self-injure have
similar fears and thoughts regarding self-injury, such as fears of hitting an artery or being
revealed.as a self-injurer, and feeling guilt and shame about their behavior. They also
display a similar desire to quit self-injuring, with the awareness that it is a harmful act,
from which it was difficult to abstain. They reported that self-injury had ad~ictive
elements. The reasons or triggers for many of the posters begin with a stress event or
overwhelming feelings. Individuals who self-injure also discussed similar issues in their
lives. These issues were categorized as relational (familial, romantic, and social) and
identity (regarding weight, sexuality, and perfection). The self-injury acts as a shield or
numbing agent to those feelings, for some it gives control back to the individual. Others
experience self-injury as self-punishment. The most commonly used instrument of selfinjury
was a blade, more specifically knife or razor. This behavior is proposed as akin to
a maladaptive and harmful defense mechanism, which is used to cope with stressful
overwhelming feelings. The individuals who self-injure also have similar maladaptive
traits which can be separated into categories associated with mental functions, emotions,
and social functioning. They tend to be extremely self-critical, and -punishing. They
have poor emotion regulation, low distress tolerance, high emotional reactivity, and poor
problem solving skills. Socially they tend to have inadequate communication skills and
maladaptive attachment tendencies. These traits explain their need for a cooping or
defense mechanism. Researchers should begin to make better use of the internet for
qualitative and quantitative data collection.
Description
198 p.
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License
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