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Survey finds self-abuse trend at exclusive schools

For some young people, self-abuse is an extreme coping mechanism that seems to help relieve stress; for others, it's a way to make deep emotional wounds more visible.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published June 5, 2006

CHICAGO - Nearly 1 in 5 students at two Ivy League schools say they have purposely injured themselves by cutting, burning or other methods, a disturbing phenomenon that psychologists say they are hearing about more often.

For some young people, self-abuse is an extreme coping mechanism that seems to help relieve stress; for others, it's a way to make deep emotional wounds more visible.

The results of the survey at Cornell and Princeton are similar to other estimates on this frightening behavior. Counselors say it's happening at colleges, high schools and middle schools across the country.

Separate research found more than 400 Web sites devoted to the subject, including many that glorify self-injury. Some worry that many sites serve as an online subculture that fuels the behavior - although whether there has been an increase in the practice or just more awareness is unclear.

Sarah Rodey, 20, a University of Illinois student who started cutting herself at age 16, said some online sites help socially isolated kids feel like they belong. One of her favorites includes graphic photographs that the site warns might be "triggering."

"I saw myself in some of those pictures, in the poems. And because I saw myself there, I wanted to connect to it better" by self-injuring, Rodey said.

The Web sites, recent books and media coverage are pulling back the curtain on the secretive practice and helping researchers better understand why some as young as grade-schoolers do it.

"You're trying to get people to know that you're hurting, and at the same time, it pushes them away" because the behavior is so distressing, said Rodey, who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

The latest prevalence estimate comes from an analysis of responses from 2,875 randomly selected male and female undergraduates and graduate students at Cornell and Princeton who completed an Internet-based mental health survey.

Seventeen percent said they had purposely injured themselves; among those, 70 percent had done so multiple times. The estimate is comparable to previous reports on U.S. adolescents and young adults, but slightly higher than studies of high school students in Australia and the United Kingdom.

The study appears in this month's issue of Pediatrics. Cornell psychologist Janis Whitlock, the study's main author, also led the Web site research, published in April in Developmental Psychology.

Among the Ivy League students who harmed themselves, about half said they'd experienced sexual, emotional or physical abuse.

Repeat self-abusers were more likely than non-injurers to be female and to have had eating disorders or suicidal tendencies, although self-injuring is usually not considered a suicide attempt.

Greg Eels, director of counseling and psychological services at Cornell, said the study's findings are not surprising.

"We see it frequently and it seems to be an increasing phenomenon," he said.

Dr. Daniel Silverman, a study co-author and Princeton's director of health services, said the study has raised consciousness among his staff, who are now encouraged to routinely ask about self-abuse when faced with students "in acute distress."

"Unless we start talking about it and making it more acceptable for people to come forward, it will remain hidden," Silverman said.

[Last modified June 5, 2006, 05:30:19]