TimmyHSelf-cutting linked to risky sexual behaviour
June 18th 2008 05:26
New research following on from a 2005 report by the Bradley Hasbro Children’s Research Center has confirmed a link between self-cutting and dangerous sexual habits. Self-cutters have a far greater risk of HIV infection than those who have been occasionally involved with the suicidal gesture.
Cutting behaviour has been proven an important risk factor for sexual risk says researcher Larry K. Brown, M.D. The link was first reported by Brown in a study involving close to 300 teens undergoing intensive psychiatric treatment. “Cutters” are more than three times as likely to choose not to use condoms during sexual intercourse.
The research proved that frequent self-cutters - those who had cut themselves more than three times - used condoms less consistently and reported less overall self-restraint than the infrequent cutters.
”There were very real clinical differences among kids who cut habitually - those who really did it as a habit - and those who had done it in ways that they described as experimental,” Brown says.
It is unclear how many young people especially teenage girls are involved in self-cutting, but what is know is that the practice isn’t uncommon. Since major celebrities like Angelina Jolie and Princess Diana admitted publicly admitted to cutting themselves the issue has achieved new levels of public awareness. A study in 2002 found that almost 15% of adolescents surveyed had practiced some form of self-mutilation.
“Little is known about whether adolescents who experiment with self-cutting once or twice engage in the same level of risk behaviours as those who repeatedly self-cut,” Brown writes.
Nearly 75% of cutters are female. Less than 40% of whom reported using condoms frequently.
“All of these kids (in the study) had psychiatric disorders, so they were at high risk to begin with,” Brown says. “The fact that habitual cutting identified a group that is at even greater sexual risk is very interesting.”
Psychologist Lori G. Plante, Ph.D., says it’s no surprise that habitual cutters are also at high risk for other risk-taking behaviours. She authored the 2007 book entitled Bleeding to Ease the Pain: Cutting, Self-Injury, and the Adolescent Search for Self.
“Habitual cutting is a way of managing intense emotional distress,” she says. “It makes sense that the level of impulsivity and risk taking would also be higher in these teens.”
She is also unsurprised by the trend which suggests that many cutters try the practice a few times and then abandon it
”I have seen many, many kids who are brought to see me because of cutting who never cut again,” she says. “There is some level of social contagion in this, with kids trying it because their friends are.”
But she acknowledges that the new researched shows that no form of cutting should be ignored, “If an adolescent cuts once it doesn't necessarily mean cutting is going to become an intractable problem, but it is still a warning sign that they are overwhelmed in some way. They need to be assessed by a professional.”
Cutting behaviour has been proven an important risk factor for sexual risk says researcher Larry K. Brown, M.D. The link was first reported by Brown in a study involving close to 300 teens undergoing intensive psychiatric treatment. “Cutters” are more than three times as likely to choose not to use condoms during sexual intercourse.
The research proved that frequent self-cutters - those who had cut themselves more than three times - used condoms less consistently and reported less overall self-restraint than the infrequent cutters.
”There were very real clinical differences among kids who cut habitually - those who really did it as a habit - and those who had done it in ways that they described as experimental,” Brown says.
It is unclear how many young people especially teenage girls are involved in self-cutting, but what is know is that the practice isn’t uncommon. Since major celebrities like Angelina Jolie and Princess Diana admitted publicly admitted to cutting themselves the issue has achieved new levels of public awareness. A study in 2002 found that almost 15% of adolescents surveyed had practiced some form of self-mutilation.
“Little is known about whether adolescents who experiment with self-cutting once or twice engage in the same level of risk behaviours as those who repeatedly self-cut,” Brown writes.
Nearly 75% of cutters are female. Less than 40% of whom reported using condoms frequently.
“All of these kids (in the study) had psychiatric disorders, so they were at high risk to begin with,” Brown says. “The fact that habitual cutting identified a group that is at even greater sexual risk is very interesting.”
Psychologist Lori G. Plante, Ph.D., says it’s no surprise that habitual cutters are also at high risk for other risk-taking behaviours. She authored the 2007 book entitled Bleeding to Ease the Pain: Cutting, Self-Injury, and the Adolescent Search for Self.
“Habitual cutting is a way of managing intense emotional distress,” she says. “It makes sense that the level of impulsivity and risk taking would also be higher in these teens.”
She is also unsurprised by the trend which suggests that many cutters try the practice a few times and then abandon it
”I have seen many, many kids who are brought to see me because of cutting who never cut again,” she says. “There is some level of social contagion in this, with kids trying it because their friends are.”
But she acknowledges that the new researched shows that no form of cutting should be ignored, “If an adolescent cuts once it doesn't necessarily mean cutting is going to become an intractable problem, but it is still a warning sign that they are overwhelmed in some way. They need to be assessed by a professional.”
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