Jim Liebelt's Youth Culture Watch

'Self-Embedding' a Troubling Trend Among Teens

This is the first time that I've heard of this troubling teen practice, but it appears as though it is very closely connected with the practice of "cutting." If you would like more information on cutting, see HomeWord's online article, "When Pain is All You Have - Why Teenagers Cut Themselves".

Self-embedding, a disorder where people wound themselves and then place objects in the wound, is an increasing problem among American teens, especially girls, researchers say.

Slated to report their findings recently at the Radiological Society of North America's annual meeting in Chicago, doctors said that ultrasound and other minimally invasive imaging techniques can help guide the removal of these foreign objects from the wounds. This is one of the first-ever reports of self-embedding, the authors said.

Self-embedding disorder is typically done without suicidal intent. Objects are used to puncture the skin or are embedded into the wound after cutting.

In the study, interventional pediatric radiologists used ultrasound and/or fluoroscopic guidance to remove 52 embedded foreign objects from nine teenagers with the disorder. The objects removed included needles, staples, paper clips, glass, wood, plastic, graphite (pencil lead), crayon and stone.

Source: Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/03/AR2008120300957.html

Teens Who Repeatedly Cut Themselves Have Greater HIV Risk

Teens who repeatedly cut themselves are more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior, increasing their chances of possibly contracting HIV, according to a study in the June issue of the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics.

Researchers from the Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center in Providence, R.I. report that 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.

Source: Science Daily
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080612070410.htm

For more information about cutting, click on the following article title:

When Pain is All You Have - Why Teenagers Cut Themselves