4 Troubled Teens Blog

Teens have a new way to injure themselves: "self-embedding disorder."

Previously recognized forms of self-injury included cutting, burning, pulling out hair, breaking bones or swallowing dangerous substances. The new way is to embed a foreign object, such as a nail or paper clip, into one's body.

At the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, Dr. William Shiels, chief of radiology at the Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, presented the first research on self-embedding, noting that radiologists are often the ones who detect the disorder.

Shiels's study involved ten teenagers who had jammed more than 50 objects - including metal staples, metal paper clips, a lead pencil, crayons, stones, glass and wood - into their arms, ankles, feet, and hands. One girl embedded a six-inch paper clip into her arm.

Most of the teens suffered from mental disorders such as depression and bipolar disorder, and Dr. Shiels warned that self-embedding can be a form of suicidal ideation that mandates immediate attention. "Parents often do not see the behavior evolving," he said. "Parents need to recognize the problem and get their child into therapy quickly."

Labels: self-harm, cutting, self_injury

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

A study conducted by researchers at the Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center found a connection between self-harm and sexual behavior among teenagers. The report appears in the June issue of the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics.

"...frequent self-cutters - teens who have cut themselves more than three times - used condoms less consistently, were more likely to share cutting instruments, and had less self-restraint. The study is the first to examine whether these teens engage in the same level of risk behaviors as those who've only experimented with cutting once or twice."

The study revealed important distinctions between teens who self-harm more regularly and teens who have only done so once or twice. Researchers hope the new information will help the medical community better identify and treat these two distinct groups of troubled teenagers. Source: Medical News Today

Labels: sex, risky_behaviors, self-harm

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

Health experts are urging parents, teachers and others to be alert to signs of self-injurious behavior in adolescents, which is become more frequent.

"There are no exact numbers for this largely hidden problem, but anonymous surveys among college students suggest that 17 percent of them have self-injured, and experts estimate that self-injury is practiced by 15 percent of the general adolescent population."

Self-injury is rarely driven by thoughts of suicide, but rather by deep emotional responses that the teen doesn't know how to process. Self-injurious behavior includes carving or cutting the skin, ripping or pulling skin or hair, head banging needle sticking, pinching and biting. Source: International Herald Tribune.

Labels: risky_behaviors, self-harm, self_injury

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

The rate of suicide goes down during the holiday season, often by as much as 40%, according to research from the University of Oxford, London.

"Our findings are contrary to the popular view that Christmas is a time of stress and arguments," said Helen Bergman, one of the social scientists who combed through emergency room records of over 19,300 people.

The Oxford group found a decrease in rates of self-inflicted injuries on and into New Year regardless of age, family connections or social isolation.

This study appears in the journal Social Science and Medicine.

Labels: suicide, research, self-harm

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

In recent years, cutting has gained more attention as teachers, parents, and psychologists began to realize that this form of self-mutilation was more common than many had believed. They've also found that it affects a very different group of kids than many had believed.

"Recent research by Dr. Madeline Levine, an American psychologist, found that children from affluent homes... were three times more likely to suffer anxiety and depression than ordinary teenagers. Bullying and anxiety about academic performance are cited as common reasons and the stress may manifest itself in anorexia, bulimia - or, increasingly, self-harming."

In years past, self-harm often took the form of hair pulling or eating disorders. But now, teachers and parents are seeing more kids who cut. As a result of the new data, the medical community has recommended that additional studies be done to determine which treatments are the most effective. Education is also considered key; so that parents and teachers know how to respond and kids feel comfortable telling someone they need help.

Cutting and other risky behaviors, such as teen drug use, are often symptoms of greater issues. Island View, an adolescent residential treatment center in Utah, can help by assessing your child's needs and then creating a treatment plan.

Labels: self-harm, cutting, affluence

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

A new study from Brown University found that 46% of teen report "self-injury." However, the study included not only cutting or burning oneself, but also getting a tattoo, pulling out hair, or picking at a sore until it bled.

Elizabeth Lloyd-Richardson and her colleagues surveyed 633 high school students. Those who admitted to self-injury said that they did it to feel in control, to stop bad feelings or to get someone's attention.

Other studies have indicated that about 20% of girls and 17% of boys self-injure. This new study appears in the August 2007 issue of Psychological Medicine.

ByParents-ForParents offer help for parents of troubled teens on a variety of topics ranging from dating, to cyberbullying, to cutting.

Labels: risky_behaviors, self-harm, cutting

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

'Cutting', the act of intentionally making cuts in the skin with a razor, knife or other sharp object as a way of coping with strong emotions, came to the forefront of our society in the 1990s, when Princess Diana admitted she'd practiced this form of self-mutilation. Since then, thousands of young people have admitted to using this same practice to deal with the anxiety of school, depression over a failed relationship, or more serious troubles at home.

"More and more teenagers are seeking relief from daily pressures by hurting themselves, and cutting seems to be the injury of choice. 'We see it every year,' Hickman High School guidance director Ann Landes said."

Though some cutters are simply vying for attention, most feel it's the only way they can cope with intense emotions or anxiety. When parents discover their child has been cutting, the first reaction is often anger. Some will ground their children or take away other privileges like use of a car or cell phone. But the only thing that will really help is counseling. The teen needs to learn better, more productive coping mechanisms. Read more at ColumbiaTribune.com.

Learn more about the Emotional Pain and Cutting that many troubled teens face at ByParents-ForParents.com. ByParents-ForParents.com offers articles, advice, and help for parents of troubled teens.

Labels: emotional_issues, mental_health, self-harm

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

A study released May 20 found that teenagers who are addicted to the internet are more likely to hurt themselves. More than 1,600 teens were surveyed for the study, which was conducted in Southeast China.

While only about 10 percent of the students surveyed were moderately addicted to the internet, and less than 1 percent were severely addicted, those students were 2.4 times more likely to have self-injured one to five times in the past 6 months than students with normal internet habits, Dr. Lawrence T. Lam from University of Notre Dame, Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia, and colleagues found. [Source: Reuters]

Additionally, teenagers who were moderately to severely addicted were nearly five times more likely than other teens to have intentionally hurt themselves six times or more in the past six months.

Researchers didn’t hypothesize on the causal relationship between internet addiction and self-harm, but instead urged parents to watch for signs of internet addiction, with the understanding that an addicted teen is more likely to be hurting himself, too.

 

Labels: addictions, internet, self-harm

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 0 Comments