"My heart and my brain is what's bleeding, these are just cuts." An interpretative phenomenological analysis of young women's experiences of self-harm
Norman, Hilary ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0740-9592, Marzano, Lisa
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9735-3512, Oskis, Andrea
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0194-2679 and Coulson, Mark
(2022)
"My heart and my brain is what's bleeding, these are just cuts." An interpretative phenomenological analysis of young women's experiences of self-harm.
Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13
, 914109.
pp. 1-7.
ISSN 1664-0640
[Article]
(doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.914109)
|
PDF
- Published version (with publisher's formatting)
Download (202kB) | Preview |
Abstract
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 behavior and the lived experience of self-harm as a functional means of emotion regulation. From a clinical perspective, the findings explored in this brief report suggest that highlighting the risks of self-harm may not be a sufficient deterrent. The recently revised draft National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance recommends that everyone presenting to hospital following self-harm should be given a comprehensive psychosocial assessment, of which the function is, in part, to understand why the person has self-harmed. The current study underlines the importance of seeing past the behavior to the underlying causes and exploring the meaning of self-harm to the individual in order to implement effective preventative interventions.
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Sustainable Development Goals: | |
Theme: | |
Keywords (uncontrolled): | self-harm, interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), stigma, qualitative, suicide |
Research Areas: | A. > School of Science and Technology > Psychology |
Item ID: | 35419 |
Useful Links: | |
Depositing User: | Hilary Norman |
Date Deposited: | 18 Jul 2022 12:22 |
Last Modified: | 28 Jul 2022 09:11 |
URI: | https://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/id/eprint/35419 |
Actions (login required)
![]() |
View Item |
Statistics
Additional statistics are available via IRStats2.