This source also states that these social interactions have helped establish a means for coping to evolve into a form of self-expression and even competition. Via forums, cafeteria conversations, and fiction, participants are granted the choice to remain anonymous or perhaps stand center stage with their habits (Adler & Adler 2011).
These mostly unregulated venues pose a second question for those in the counseling profession.
Counselors should ask themselves if it is possible that self-harm is developing into another form of self-expression while still acting as a release for the individual committing the act. Craigen and Foster (2012) are careful to acknowledge how similar the act of self-harm is to socially acceptable forms of body modification such as ear piercing, tattoos and eyebrow tweezing. What these practices have in common is that they provide a desirable end through tolerance of a painful means. Craigen and Foster acknowledge the differences between each practice.
However, they suggest that perhaps individuals with extreme amounts of body tattoos and/or piercings could be trying to satisfy the same urges as an individual who is a frequent self-injurer. The purpose of this paper is to explore the act of self-harm as a growing trend amongst adolescents, specifically female, so that we can better understand what this widespread epidemic may turn into in the future. In this paper, the word trend will represent the patterned aspects of self-harm behaviors.
The Term Paper on Move And Position Individuals
... for the clinical option covered in the valid consent form 4.check the individual’s identification details according to local guidelines before advice ... be particularly at risk and how we can remove potential harm to residents as well as ourselves and service users ... immediately and continue talking. Do not allow external distractions to act as crutches that keep side-tracking your concentration. They ...
What promotes its addictive, social quality and what venues are teenage girls seeking out in order to practice it privately or amongst friends? Literature Review Adler and Adler (2011) have found that self-injury has been defined and treated by the psycho-medical community according to the same specific population with limited clinical views as to its cause. This population of young, attractive, intelligent and socially graceful women, ranging from ages 15 – 24 has been the sample since the late 1960s, not only according to Adler and Adler but to Grunebaum and Klerman (1967) and Brickman (2004) as well.
Though treated as a psycho-medical disease for decades, self-injury has evolved into more of a sociological epidemic due to the social contagion it possesses and the accessibility of its practice (Adler & Adler 2011).
This research suggests that not only is self-injury in the midst of being demedicalized as a disorder or a disease, but it is actually becoming a social trend because, in addition to accessibility, the 1990s provided many means of sourcing for individuals wanting to explore its practice.
During this time period, floods of popular fiction (including books, films and music) and even medical texts cautioned against the spread of self-injury, particularly in adolescent females (Brickman, 2004; Conterio and Lader, 1998; Favazza 1996; Strong, 1998).
Lack (1995) targeted one of self-injury’s sources as the evolution of the punk-rock subculture beginning in the late 1970s that then helped the Goth and Emo musical subcultures to evolve later on. Lack describes this source as a community who held a more neutral attitude toward the openness of self-injury and therefore helped to perpetuate its practice.
This particular group was motivated by the connection to the music, fashion and ideologies of the culture that was sometimes expressed by a self-destructive outlook that leads to harder drug use such as heroin and methamphetamine and using razor blades to slash one’s wrist (Lack 1995).
Just in case there was not enough momentum to perpetuate the trend of self-injury, the Goth culture evolved out of the punk subculture in the 1980s and early 90s through its own style, music and liberal margins that displayed aggression, and a tough attitude through a love of all things disturbing and dark (Wilkins 2008).
The Essay on Women Female Rights Music
Within the broad, yet ever increasing issue of "tween" culture are many causes that are co-related. These sources form the foundation as to why children are becoming more and more desensitized to what once would have been considered a "moral standard" for their age sector. In this particular journal article taken from "Signs", Gayle Wald focuses on the cultural construction of female youth with a ...
Adler and Adler (2011 p. 170) interviewed Mandy, who in 1999, was very much involved in the Goth scene at her high school. Mandy described her attraction to the projection of “death, violence and gruesome things” that bands such as Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails facilitated when they participated in self-injury on stage. What Adler and Adler found when interviewing Mandy was why adolescent females would feel drawn to this sort of behavior. They discovered that these girls were moving toward something that rewarded them with a community, a feeling of belonging and most importantly, an outlet.
Most recently, the Emo musical subculture has acted as a source for the trend of self-injury through media, specifically music, into the 2000s (Greenwald, 2003; Sands, 2006; Walsh 2008).
These three sources speak of how often the Emo culture is associated with open demonstrations of depression, self-injury and even suicide and for the first time, research is showing an uptrend in self-injury among adolescent males associated with this community (Greenwald 2003).
Strong (1998) stresses, though, that self-injury is not just limited to individuals who participate in subcultures.
He brings attention to the persistent image of a typically white, suburban adolescent female who is socially adequate and an apparently ‘normal’ teenage girl. Brickman (2004) describes an almost exact depiction of an adolescent female self-injurer starring in piece after piece of popular media, including Beverly Hills 90210, 7th Heaven, Girl, Interrupted, and even Seventeen Magazine. Both Shaw (2002) and Brickman (2004) agree that self-injury in adolescent females is on the rise, not just in musical subcultures but also for politically driven reasons.
Shaw (2002) asks several important questions pertaining to the rise of self-injury in young females. She asks similar questions as this paper does, but with a feminist perspective: why is self-injury the route girls and women are taking in order to manage and express their emotional distress? What does it mean to practice self-injury in western culture? What Shaw (2002) attempts to answer, is the question of why anyone is surprised, given the way society objectifies and violates the female body, that women are bringing violence onto their own bodies?
The Essay on Adolescent Girls Dietary Restraint
This study examined the perceived role of three types of sociocultural agents (peers, parents, and media) in influencing body dissatisfaction and dietary restraint in adolescent girls. Participants were 577 grade 10 girls from six schools who completed questionnaires in class and had height and weight measured. Two path analyses resulted in a similar pattern. While current body size strongly ...
Brickman (2004) asks what few other psychiatric studies are asking: what is society’s role in this epidemic? Brickman argues that those in the psychiatry profession should be asking if society encourages or supports this behavior. Concurrently, she wonders how assumptions regarding femininity and its place in western culture are fueling the work of these psychiatrists. Brickman (2004) argues that the epidemic of female self-injurers is on the rise due to a reinforcement of “cultural myths about gender” (2004 p. 3).
An interesting parallel to this is Bordo’s (1993) dichotomy of the genders: male being active and female being passive. According to Bordo (1993), this duality is rooted from an Aristotelian philosophy that explores gender roles. The female body ‘simply receives and darkly, dumbly responds to impressions, emotions and passions (1993 p. 11).
Shaw (2002), along with Craigen and Foster (2012), are clever to discuss self-injury and body modification as parallels.
While Craigen and Foster (2012) discuss excessive body tattoos and piercings, Shaw (2002) approaches the socially sanctioned trends meant to provide women with a more ideal look according to western culture. Some of these trends include painful procedures such as Botox, liposuction, cosmetic surgery and breast implants. Shaw (2002) states that each procedure is not seen as deviant or pathological by society. She quotes Dworkin: ‘not one part of a woman’s body is left untouched, unaltered.
No feature or extremity is spared the art, or pain of improvement’ (1974 p. 113).
‘Pain is an essential part of the grooming process…no price is too great, no process too repulsive, no operation too painful for the woman who would be beautiful’ (1974 p. 115).
Shaw (2002) goes on to ask why alteration of the female body is only questioned when it is self-inflicted and out of the context of sexual gratification and beauty ideals. She explores her own question by quoting Rogers: If self-injury reflects “what cannot be known or named in girls’ experience” (1996 p. ) could it be that the act of self-injury is so disturbing because it represents a truth for many girls and women to which society would rather turn its cheek? Shaw (2002) then discusses self-injury as perhaps a trend that is a disturbingly brilliant form of protest against the violence and objectification of the female body in western culture. Shaw (2002) finds that the act of self-injury in girls and women is an act of mimicking that which has been done to them by culture and society for decades. In her eyes, it is no wonder that self-injury in adolescent females, or “truth tellers” (Gilligan 1968 p. 43) is on the incline. Discussion Each piece of research studied for the purpose of this paper advises that adolescence is a developmental period where individuals are prone to feeling invincible, impulsive and due to the instant gratification self-injury provides, it delivers satisfying results. However, so many instances of self-injury dissipate as adolescent females grow older; due to life transitions, fear of discovery in potential social situations and frustration of maintenance (Adler & Alder 2011).
The Review on The Role of Media in Perpetuating Unrealistic Female Body Images
The Role of Media in Perpetuating Unrealistic Female Body Images Portrayals of high fashion models in print media has long created an unrealistic "ideal" body image for women and despite some recent campaigns (e. g. , Dove and Nike) to portray "normal" sized/shaped women, the fall-out from the idealized images has not been pretty (pun intended). Research has shown that females are frequently ...
Is it possible that self-injury is analogous to the deviant trend of smoking in the girls’ restroom during class in the 1950’s? Limitations of These Studies Adler and Adler (2011) attempted to consider the limitations of most published literature regarding self-injury. However, they state that many other hidden populations of self-injurers exist. They found its rather specific population of young, attractive, intelligent and socially graceful women ranging from the ages of 15 – 24 has defined the treatment of self-injury for several decades.
Grunebaum and Klerman (1967) and Brickman (2004) agree that this population has served as the model since the 1960s resulting in limited clinical views in the psycho-medical community. In addition to these findings, it is important to note the duality of self-injurers in punk, Goth and Emo subcultures and Strong’s (1998) persistent image of a typically white, suburban adolescent female who is socially adequate and an apparently ‘normal’ teenage girl. Recommendations for the Counselor
The Research paper on Do You Advocate Or Oppose Social Media?
Advocates of the Social Media say that these communities facilitate social and political change; offer teachers, librarians, and students valuable access to educational support and materials; promote increased interaction with friends and family and broadcast useful information rapidly. Opponents say that these sites alter children’s brains and behavior; waste time on frivolous activity; prevent ...
For the adolescent female who wishes to break away and identify, there are musical subcultures that accept and promote self-injurious behavior and provide a feeling of belonging as opposed to isolation for the individual. For the adolescent female depicted in piece after piece of popular media that Brickman (2004) presents, self-injury is a successful means of gaining attention from loved ones to peers to complete strangers (Adler & Adler 2011).
This implies that a counselor providing therapy to a self-injurer must acknowledge the possibility that there are many faces of self-injury and multiple reasons for practicing the behavior.
Psychiatrists now believe self-injury to be an outcome of mental disorders such as depression, anxiety and trauma including sexual abuse (Adler & Adler 2011).
With this in mind, it is important to consider the frequency of these disorders amongst adolescent females paired with the ease with which they can access self-injury as stated in this paper. Beyond this, the research presented finds that therapists have been successful discussing coping mechanisms and setting goals with clients that place emphasis on redirecting feelings such as shame and guilt outward instead of inward.
This research also states that the use of psychiatric medications such as antidepressants have helped minimize instances of emotional arousal in the client that would trigger instances of self-injury. The Internet and Social Media The research presented in this paper supports the idea that the Internet and social media serve as an interesting venue for self-injury. The research studied finds that the social realm of the Internet serves three purposes for self-injurers: the ability to be anonymous, the ability to inhabit a different identity, and the ability to feel a sense of belonging within a community.
In addition to this, Adler and Adler (2011) find that uniformly, these social settings reject the prominent ideas in the psycho-medical world of self-injury, that it promotes a space for self-injurers to define the meaning behind their actions independently and freely. Adolescent females who tend to be reared by the convenience of point and click virtual social interaction may find the virtual self-injury communities preferable to the physical world and thus may be more likely to hide their behavior from those close to them and only share it with strangers.
The Essay on Social Behavior Children Television Violence
From Black and White, to HDTV, TV's Grip on our Young How many televisions do you have in your house? Do you watch those TV's for more than an hour a day? How much is too much television? These questions are asked by people everyday, with each question comes a varied response depending on who is asked. Children are very impressionable. How does television affect the children that are between the ...
It is important to link these findings with Brickman’s (2004) question: What is society’s role in this epidemic? Conclusion In order to explore the act of self-harm as a growing trend amongst adolescents, specifically female, it is important to consider how easily this behavior catches on the airwaves. This paper explored how self-injury is not limited to dark concerts that musical subcultures such as punk, Goth and Emo promote. In fact, this inflammatory behavior has bridged into popular and social media since the 1990s.
This bridge leads to important questions that this paper does not answer, such as: What is society’s role in this epidemic and why is self-injury the route girls and women are taking in order to manage and express their emotional distress? What does it mean to practice self-injury in western culture? With the objectification and violence projected on the female body throughout history, perhaps no one should be surprised that self-injury in adolescent females has been on the uptrend since the 1960s. Self-injury’s ability to provide instant gratification to adolescent females seeking to bury emotions, gain attention r feel belonging to an alternative community promotes its addictive, social quality and its ability to trend. References Adler, Patricia and Peter Adler (2011) The tender cut: inside the hidden world of self-injury. New York: New York University Press. Bordo, Susan (1993) Unbearable weight: feminism, western culture and the body. Berkeley: University of California Press. Brickman, Barbara (2004) ‘Delicate cutters: gendered self-mutilation and attractive flesh in medical discourse’, Body & Society 10: 87 – 111. Conterio, Karen and Wendy Lader (1998) Bodily harm: the breakthrough healing program for self-injurers.
New York: Hyperion. Craigen, Laurie Marie and Victoria Foster (2012) Self-injurious behavior: an emerging phenomenon. VISTAS Online, Article 66. http://counselingoutfitters. com/ vistas/ vistas05/Vistas05. art66. pdf Favazza, Armando R. (1996) Bodies under siege: self-mutilation and body modification in culture and psychiatry. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. Greenwald, Andy (2003) Nothing feels good: punk rock, teenagers and emo. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin. Grunebaum, Henry U. and Klerman, Gerald L. (1967) ‘Wrist slashing’, The American Journal of Psychiatry 36: 527 – 34.
Lack, Tony (1995)Consumer society and authenticity: the (il)logic of punk practices. Undercurrent 3, October. Originally published at http://darkwing. uoregon. edu/~ucurrent/uc3/ 3-lack. html. Morgan, Howard (1979) Death wishes? The understanding and management of self-harm. New York: Wiley Rogers, A. G. (1996) Writing on their bodies i: understanding self-mutilation with adolescent girls through creative writing in psychotherapy, paper presented at Harvard Medical School Conference: Child and Adolescent Self-Destruction, Boston, MA, 3 February, and at Psychology and Women’s Studies Departments, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, 25 April.
Sands, Sarah (2006) EMO cult warning for parents. Daily Mail, August 16. http://dailymail. co. uk /pages/live/articles/news/news. html? in_article_id=400953&in_page_id=1770. Shaw, Sarah N. (2002) Shifting conversations on girls’ and women’s self-injury: an analysis of the clinical literature in historical context. Feminism & Psychology 12: 191 – 219. Strong, Marilee (2008) A bright red scream: self-mutilation and the language of pain. New York:
