“Mauled by a Bear”: Narrative analysis of self-injury among adolescents in US news, 2007–2012

Abstract

Self-injury among adolescents has been widely documented in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia; however, news coverage of self-injury has not been examined. This study analyzes 78 news accounts of self-injury among adolescents in the United States from 2007 to 2012, using critical cultural studies as a theoretical foundation and a methodology informed by Kenneth Burke's dramatism. Narrative elements within the sample are examined in relationship to one another in order to reveal implicit meanings within the news stories. Looking across the sample, I then use a framework developed by Labov and Waletzky to examine a dominant meta-narrative that downplays social causes of self-injury-notably, various forms of trauma such as childhood sexual abuse-and instead frames self-injury as a personal choice. As a result, the remedy to the problem is not constructed as redress of contemporary pressures placed upon young people, but rather, as the responsibility of adolescents to conform to the social system that causes them to hurt themselves.

Narratives of self-harm at school: Identifying trajectories of intervention in educational contexts

“…In general, the work made it possible to observe that the phenomenon of self-harming circulates in school contexts and belongs to both the imaginary and the real level of adolescents, who respond positively when invited to tell it, as evidence of a desire to narrate as well to be seen and helped. Thus, in line with the literature on the subject (Bareiss, 2014;Hill & Dallos, 2012), narration is a functional tool for developing meaning and meaningmaking processes in adolescents with conduct of self-harm; where the concrete plan of the act obscures the possibility of think disturbing emotions and memories, the narration of self-harm allows to access to a first symbolization and transformation of the emotion towards the representation of experience.…”

On the Risks of Medicalization of Adolescents Self-Injuring Acts

“…This view is reinforced by popular literature, books and films displaying those who self-injure as carrying a psychiatric disease or being emotionally deviant [22]. Examining news narratives on self-injuring, Bareiss [23] shows that the dominant perspective in such narratives are that of the health professionals. Bareiss argue that this skews the perspective towards pathology of the individual and neglects problems in the adolescent's social context, such as catastrophic losses, bullying or growing up in dysfunctional families.…”

“…Bareiss argue that this skews the perspective towards pathology of the individual and neglects problems in the adolescent's social context, such as catastrophic losses, bullying or growing up in dysfunctional families. Thus, the medical view on self-injuring as an individual problem of those who self-injure is spread among laypeople and puts the burden on the self-injurer to deal with the symptom, regardless of the social context that has caused the adolescent to turn to self-injuring [23].…”

The scarred body: A personal reflection of self-injury scars

“…When one becomes socially stigmatized, this also often leads to selfstigma, which means that a stigmatized group accepts the negative attitudes and comes to hold feelings of self-blame (Leaf and Schrock, 2011). People who selfinjure may withhold seeking professional help (Long, 2018); instead, they may blame themselves for the inability to cope with their suffering (Bareiss, 2013). One cuts or burns oneself as a means of coping with suffering and distress; still, it continues to elicit shame rather than compassion.…”