Psychological Models of Self‐Mutilation

Abstract

The descriptive models of self-mutilation fall into three broad categories. The psychodynamic formulation; the second category includes the anxiety reduction model, the hostility model, the behavioral learning model and the appeal model; the third social learning category includes the group-epidemic model and aspects of the violence and punishment model. The three models support the view that there is no single cause or motive responsible for self-mutilating behavior. Having a number of factors in mind allows for flexibility and enables clinicians to test particular hypotheses during management and gives them the opportunity to alter intervention accordingly. The problems faced by self-mutilating patients are so varied that no single form of treatment is likely to be universally appropriate.

Self‐injurious behavior in rhesus monkeys: New insights into its etiology, physiology, and treatment

“…In mentally retarded individuals, SIB may serve to deflect teacher demands or gain attention [Iwata et al, 1994]. However, in most populations in which self-reporting is possible, a common theme is a reduction in stress or relief from escalating negative feelings [Bennun, 1984;Kemperman et al, 1997]. Thus, there may be concordance between monkeys and humans in the maintenance of SIB.…”

“…In addition to these behavioral contingencies, SIB may function to reduce arousal. In the tension reduction model of SIB, self-inflicted wounding is hypothesized to abate the escalation of negative emotions [Bennun, 1984]. Thus, the act of SIB in humans is followed by an immediate sense of relief [Jones et al, 1979;Haines et al, 1995].…”

Self injurious behaviour in high school students in city center of Isparta and factors psychiatrically related with this behavior

“…KYD ile ilgili psikolojik modelde bireylerin depresyon ve anksiyete duyguları gibi olumsuz veya tolere edilemeyen duygularını azaltmak için kendilerini yaraladıkları, anksiyete ve depresyonun kendini yaralama davranışını başlatan etkenler olabileceği bildirilmektedir. 25 Literatürde kendini yaralayan ergenlerin yaralamayanlara göre daha yüksek anksiyete ve depresyon düzeylerine sahip oldukları bildirilmiştir. 20,24,[26][27][28] Bir çalışmada depresyon tablosunda düzelme gözlenmeyen ergenlerde KYD'nin de düzelmediği saptanmıştır.…”

Functional consistency across two behavioural modalities: fire‐setting and self‐harm in female special hospital patients

“…Some self-harmers describe their actions as defiance and attention seeking (Bennum, 1984;Liebowitz, 1987). Kernberg considers the act of selfharm to be an unconscious effort to gain control by inducing guilt in others (1987).…”