17 Pct. at 2 Schools Practice Self-Abuse (Cornell and Princeton)

ABC News & AP ^ | June 5, 2006 | LINDSEY TANNER

[bd476]

17 Pct. at 2 Schools Practice Self-Abuse

Survey: 17 Percent at 2 Ivy League Schools Practice Cutting, Other Self-Abuse

By LINDSEY TANNER

The Associated Press

CHICAGO Jun 5, 2006 (AP)

CHICAGO - Nearly 1 in 5 students at two Ivy League schools say they have purposely injured themselves by cutting, burning or other methods, a disturbing phenomenon that psychologists say they are hearing about more often.

For some young people, self-abuse is an extreme coping mechanism that seems to help relieve stress; for others it's a way to make deep emotional wounds more visible.

The results of the survey at Cornell and Princeton are similar to other estimates on this frightening behavior. Counselors say it's happening at colleges, high schools and middle schools across the country.

Separate research found more than 400 Web sites devoted to subject, including many that glorify self-injury. Some worry that many sites serve as an online subculture that fuels the behavior although whether there has been an increase in the practice or just more awareness is unclear.

Sarah Rodey, 20, a University of Illinois student who started cutting herself at age 16, said some online sites help socially isolated kids feel like they belong. One of her favorites includes graphic photographs that the site warns might be "triggering."

"I saw myself in some of those pictures, in the poems. And because I saw myself there, I wanted to connect to it better" by self-injuring, Rodey said.

The Web sites, recent books and media coverage are pulling back the curtain on the secretive practice and helping researchers better understand why some as young as grade-schoolers do it.

"You're trying to get people to know that you're hurting, and at the same time, it pushes them away" because the behavior is so distressing, said Rodey, who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

The latest prevalence estimate comes from an analysis of responses from 2,875 randomly selected male and female undergraduates and graduate students at Cornell and Princeton who completed an Internet-based mental health survey.

Seventeen percent said they had purposely injured themselves; among those, 70 percent had done so multiple times. The estimate is comparable to previous reports on U.S. adolescents and young adults, but slightly higher than studies of high school students in Australia and the United Kingdom.

The study appears in this month's issue of Pediatrics, released Monday. Cornell psychologist Janis Whitlock, the study's main author, also led the Web site research, published in April in Developmental Psychology.

Among the Ivy League students who harmed themselves, about half said they'd experienced sexual, emotional or physical abuse that researchers think can trigger self-abuse.

Repeat self-abusers were more likely than non-injurers to be female and to have had eating disorders or suicidal tendencies, although self-injuring is usually not considered a suicide attempt.

Greg Eels, director of counseling and psychological services at Cornell, said the study's findings are not surprising. "We see it frequently and it seems to be an increasing phenomenon."

While Eels said the competitive, stressful college environment may be particularly intense at Ivy League schools, he thinks the results reflect a national problem.

Dr. Daniel Silverman, a study co-author and Princeton's director of health services, said the study has raised consciousness among his staff, who are now encouraged to routinely ask about self-abuse when faced with students "in acute distress."

"Unless we start talking about it and making it more acceptable for people to come forward, it will remain hidden," Silverman said.

Some self-injurers have no diagnosable illness but have not learned effective ways to cope with life stresses, said Victoria White Kress, an associate professor at Youngstown State University in Ohio. She consults with high schools and says demand for her services has risen in recent years.

Psychologists who work with middle and high schools "are overwhelmed with referrals for these kids," said psychologist Richard Lieberman, who coordinates a suicide prevention program for Los Angeles public schools.

He said one school recently reported several fourth-graders with burns on their arms, and another seeking help for "15 hysterical seventh-grade girls in the office and they all have cuts on their arms."

In those situations, Lieberman said there's usually one instigator whose behavior is copied by sympathetic but probably less troubled friends.

Rodey, a college sophomore, said cutting became part of her daily high school routine.

"It was part of waking up, getting dressed, the last look in the mirror and then the cut on the wrist. It got to be where I couldn't have a perfect day without it," Rodey said.

"If I was apprehensive about going to school, or I wasn't feeling great, I did that and I'd get a little rush," she said.

Whitlock is among researchers who believe that "rush" is feel-good hormones called endorphins produced in response to pain. But it is often followed by deep shame and the injuries sometimes require medical treatment.

Vicki Duffy, 37, runs a Morris County, N.J., support group and said when she was in her 20s, she had skin graft surgery on her arms after burning herself with cigarettes and a fire-starter. After psychological and drug treatment, she stopped the behavior 10 years ago.

Author of the 2004 book "No More Pain: Breaking the Silence of Self-Injury," Duffy recalled being stopped on the street by a 70-year-old woman who saw her scarred arms and said, "'I used to do that.'"

Rodey said she stopped several months ago with the help of S.A.F.E. (Self-Abuse Finally Ends) Alternatives treatment program at a suburban Chicago hospital. Treatment includes behavior therapy and keeping a written log to track what triggers the behavior.

Rodey said she feels "healed" but not cured "because it's something I will struggle with the rest of my life. Whenever I get really stressed out, that's the first thing I think about."



On the Net:

American Academy of Pediatrics: American Academy of Pediatrics

S.A.F.E Alternatives: S.A.F.E.

[bd476]

From the article:

"...Author of the 2004 book "No More Pain: Breaking the Silence of Self-Injury," Duffy recalled being stopped on the street by a 70-year-old woman who saw her scarred arms and said, 'I used to do that.'..."

The increase in numbers might represent group-think, maybe even mob psychology.

In either case, it's a tragedy for kids from middle school through college.

[flaglady47]

Princess Di was a self-cutter, and also had eating disorders.

[Jeff Chandler]

17 Pct. at 2 Schools Practice Self-Abuse

With the euphemistic meaning of that phrase, the percentage would be higher.

[bd476]

That's right, I recall hearing something about that.

I wonder though how many got the wrong impression that if Princess Di could do it and survive, then they could, too.

The 70s singer Karen Carpenter died from complications of her eating disorder.

[AlaskaErik]

What a bunch of idiots. There are more effective ways of dealing with stress. When I was in college I didn't have time to be stressed...I was too busy working and studying, since I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth.

[Hacksaw]

Hmmmm. I used to get really drunk. These nutty kids, what will they think of next....

[Looking4Truth]

Gosh, I must be getting old. I remember when self-abuse was nothing but 'whacking'. :->

[bd476]

Acknowledging your comment with a polite 1/2 smile aka painful grimace.

Quick calculations based on the article stating that 17% of 2,875 Cornell and Princeton students who took the survey and had reported that they had purposely injured themselves, equals 489 self-injuring students.

That's a tragedy in my book.

[Jeff Chandler]

I don't believe the 17% figure. One in six? This is another bogus survey.

[Slings and Arrows]

I don't believe the 17% figure. One in six? This is another bogus survey.

I agree. Given the typical college-student mentality, a survey like this must have been seen as G-d's gift for their amusement.

[PAMadMax]

I am a self-mutilator....

Have cuts on hand from Dewalt Recip. Saw cutting conduit, bruises from hammer, Cut from cable knife...

Oh, they do it intentionally and not while working?

</sarcasm off>

[Slings and Arrows]

An ignorant person will see my scars and think I am a self-mutilator. A wise person will see my scars and know I am a cat owner.

[Jimmy Valentine's brother]

Aren't tattoos and body piercing a form of self-abuse? 17% seems low to me.

[bd476]

Maybe it's time for you to emulate Roosevelt Grier and take up a safe hobby.

[bd476]

Eeeee, you just reminded me of those wretched looking tongue piercings. Every time I see someone with a silver ornament lanced into their tongue, the hair on the back of my neck goes on high alert.

[metesky]

I too have plenty of good ones, the best being the nice 8" cut through the thigh muscle from when the saw's blade guard failed to return.

But let's face it, a life-time in construction is self-abuse!
;O)

[mo]

"....I don't believe the 17% figure. One in six? This is another bogus survey.......somebody trolling for a research grant...just MHO!!

[Robert A Cook PE]

But are these liberals at these national colleges = our "elite"?

[Pharmboy]

Insightful comment--esp. the piercings. I believe it is guilt they feel...about what, who knows?

[Junior]

"Self Abuse" means something other than the author of this piece thinks, and the percentages of practitioners are much, much higher.