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The effects of abuse on children's development
Effects of child abuse on child development
Effects of child abuse on child development
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Understanding Teens Who Self Injure
Imagine being sixteen years old and taking a razor to your arm because you feel so much pain inside that cutting is the only way to escape it. For a lot of people this idea seems strange and incomprehensible, but for many teenagers this is their reality. In a society with so much abuse, neglect and crime children are facing things that they never had to face in the past. Adolescents who are lacking more positive coping skills are turning to self-injurious behaviors to ease their pain and frustration.
In recent years the issue of self-injurious behaviors or SIB (White Kress, 2003) has increased in popularity. The general public is starting to take a special interest in the issue as more and more people are doing it. The issue of self-mutilation can be found in movies, television and popular literature today. With increasing media attention people want to understand what these behaviors include, who does it and why. Although researchers agree that more research is needed on the topic, much is already known about these behaviors. About 1% of the general population and 4% of the mental health population suffer from a form of SIB (Shoemaker, 2004). Often times people who suffer from SIB have preexisting mental health disorders such as major depression, Dysthymia, dissociate identity disorder, OCD, substance abuse disorders, adjustment disorders, schizophrenia, personality disorders, and eating disorders (Brittlebank et al. as quoted in White Kress, 2003).
Although there is many different definitions of what SIB is, most researchers would agree that ?SIB is defined as a volitional act to harm one?s body without any intention to die as a result of the behavior? (White Kress, 2003). There are also a lot of different terms out there for these behaviors, they include self-inflicted violence, self-injury, self-harm, parasuicide, cutting, self-abuse, and self-mutilation (Martinson, 2001). Without any intention to die as a result is a very important piece of information when understanding SIB. While many people who self injure do have suicidal ideation, most are not in fact suicidal. ?Menninger described self-mutilation as the focusing of suicidal impulse on part of the body instead of the whole body to avoid actual suicide? (Zila & Kiselica, 2001). Someone who is suicidal wants to end his or her life, howev...
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...er from SIB could have suicidal ideation, which at times Lisa does, but I would not consider her suicidal.
Overall, my information was very informative and well written. It gave me a clearer look into the world of SIB and a better understanding of Lisa and what she is dealing with. I definitely think more research needs to be done in the field. I would like to find more information on boys with SIB because that seems to be becoming more frequent and also more treatment suggestions.
Works Cited
Martinson, Deb. (2001). Self Injury. Focus Adolescent Services. http://www.focusas.com/SelfInjury.html
Personal Interview with Lisa at Kids Peace Children?s Psychiatric Hospital
Shoemaker, Carma Haley. (2004). A Cut Above: The Practice of Self-Mutilation. Teenagers today. http://teenagerstoday.com/resources/articles/mutilate.htm
White Kress, Victoria. (2003). Self Injurious Behaviors: Assessment and Diagnosis. J Journal of Counseling & Development, 81(4), 490-497.
Zila, Laurie MacAniff & Kiselica Mark. (2001). Understanding and Counseling Self- Mutilation in Female Adolescents and Young Adults. Journal of Counseling & Development, 79 (1) 46-53.
First, some people harm themselves simply because they can. A friend of Callie’s, Amanda, cuts herself and said to Callie, “Listen, I don’t see how what I do is so different from people who get their tongues pierced. Or their lips. Or their ears, for Chrissakes. It’s my body” (McCormick 37). She doesn’t see the harm in hurting herself which is why teaching this book could tell teenagers that this isn’t the path to go down and that there are other alternatives. She thinks that this is normal and a way to cope with her problems on a day-to-day basis. Amanda is one of the 1,400 out of 100,000, and growing, people who admitted to self-injury (Kennedy). Secondly, some people self-injure to cope with their feelings and tensions. Callie explains to her therapist about her father’s job situation and said, “’Now he just sells to companies nearby.’ I don’t tell you [her therapist] about how it seems like all the companies nearby already have computers, that for a while he took people out hoping they’d become customers and that now he mostly just goes out. ‘He has to work a lot’” (McCormick 111). Callie explained how her fathers situation seemed to cause her a lot of stress and how she seemed worried for him. To add, “some reasons why teens self-injure include: release of tension and feeling overwhelmed” (Styer). This is a lesson that could be taught in
What is self-harm / self-harm? Self harm happens when you hurt or harm yourself. There are many ways to do so. Some include overdose, cutting yourself,burning yourself, banging your head against a wall or something else hard, punching yourself, sticking things in your body. and swallowing things such as nails or other sharp objects.
There are many cases where girls and boys hurt themselves because they are insecure about themselves. They feel too ugly or too fat. These kinds of people live in depression. They do not feel good about themselves. People like this tend to harm their bodies. The fact that they become depressed makes it even worse. One good example is Bulimia nervosa. It is an eating disorder where the person eats and tries to take it back as soon as they can. This is mainly caused by lack of confidence. The person probably feels like they are fat. Many other kids cut themselves due to lack of self-love. Another good example is if you are being bullied. Being bullied really hurts feelings it makes you feel like you are not good enough. There are tons of kids who are depressed due to the fact that they are being bullied constantly. Many times kids stay like this and do not speak up because they are afraid. However they are only making it worse. They live by depression every day. Anyone can stand up and put a stop to bulling. I’m very confident that if you put an end to being bullied you’ll also put an end to the depression you suffer. Depression can influence our actions. We must love our selves. God mad us all different but we are all beautiful in our own ways. We must love our bodies and treat them as
Thio, ., Taylor, ., & Schwartz, . (2013). Deviant Behavior (11th ed., pp. 5-7). New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc.
Violence is defined as the intentional use of force to harm a human being. Its outcome is injury (whether physical or psychological, fatal or nonfatal). Violence among teenagers is on the rise, and has been since the early 1980's. In my opinion this is due to the increase of violence in the media, the astounding availability of firearms and the lack of proper guidance in the home. Northeastern University's College of Criminal Justice reports that from 1985 to 1993 murders committed by people over the age of 25 dropped an impressive 20%; meanwhile they increased 65% for people between the ages of 18-24 and an astounding 165% growth for teenagers 14 to 17. According to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, in 1996, 6548 young people 15-24 years old were victims of homicides. This amounts to an average of 18 youth homicides per day in the US. It also states that homicide is the second leading cause of death for persons 15-24 and is the leading cause of death for African-American and Hispanic youths in this age group. There are a few things that we as Americans can do to stunt this problem, and it starts with the home. By focusing on the home first, we as Americans can drastically reduce the amount of violent crime committed in the US.
Another factor that was not controlled for was personality disorders. Given the limitations in the SIQ-JR’s ability to predict suicide attempts in males, it is important to look at all factors that could help increase the success and accuracy of suicide risk assessments. It is possible that knowledge of personality disorders among male participants would help detect suicidal ideation when these participants are less willing to report suicidal feelings.
It can often be used as a distraction from emotional distress and a way to release feelings the person has help in for so long. They often feel relief and a sense of calmness after performing the act. This is known as cutting or self-mutilation. Some forms of self-mutilation are cutting, burning, hair-pulling, pinching, scratching, picking at scars, and head-banging. People who self-mutilate often have a history of abuse, whether it be sexual, emotional, or physical. Self-mutilation often piggy backs onto other mental health problems such as eating disorders, substance abuse, schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and many other mental illnesses. Most people who self-harm often have low self-esteem and are perfectionists. They are often very impulsive and have poor problem-solving
"Self-Harm Among Teenage Girls Up 10 Per Cent In Year." Times, The (United Kingdom) (2013): 16. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 9 Feb. 2014.
Self-harm, or self-mutilation, is the intentional action of harming oneself, generally without the intent to kill. It is estimated that over two million people self-harm in the United States alone (Pomere). When involved with depression, self-harm is generally used as a method of coping with stress and various feelings that they may be having. If depression manifests with feelings of inadequacies, one could feel like they deserve to be injured (Bartha). Over time, the act of self-injury could become an addiction. It could become an obsession (Pomere).
Many scholars have employed a variety of research methodology to try and answer the questions of: Why do some adolescents resort to extreme measures to resolve their problems? What can be done to improve the current state of the situ...
Styer, Denise M. "An Understanding of Self-Injury and Suicide." Prevention Researcher Integrated Research Services, Inc., Vol. 13, Supplement. Dec. 2006: 10-12. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 16 Apr. 2014. .
Let us look into basic and generalized knowledge of self injury. Self injury (self harm or S.I.) is the act of harming yourself as a way of coping with emotional pain, frustration, and anger. Some view it as a suicide attempt or a precursor to a suicide attempt, but it is not a suicide attempt at all. Rather, it is a serious cry for help. When an individual turns to self injury, they look for an emotional release which gives them momentary calmness. “While self-injury may bring a momentary sense of calm and a release of tension, it's usually followed by guilt and shame and the return of painful emotions” (Self Injury 1). Self injury can also result in serious or even fatal injuries (1).
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, scientific evidence has shown that almost all people who take their own lives have a diagnosable mental or substance abuse disorder, and the majority have more than one disorder. In other words, the feelings that often lead to suicide are highly treatable. That’s why it is imperative that we better understand the symptoms of the disorders and the behaviors that often accompany thoughts of suicide. With more knowledge, we can often prevent the devastation of losing a loved one.
Suicide can be defined as an attempt to end one’s own life via inflicting oneself with some sort of injury which can lead to adverse health condition and eventually death of the patient. Various method that are employed at different occasions are Self-hanging, poisoning, gun fire, jumping from height etc. The occurrence of suicide is higher among certain cohort of population such as adolescents, elderlies, professionals, and people suffering from mental disorders. We attempt to cover various mental illnesses that can be associated with increased occurrences of suicide.