Why Do Girls Cut? Essay -- Psychology

Why do people hurt themselves? In a journal article from the American Journal of Psychotherapy, Louise Ruberman notes that just about 2.1 million teens suffer from nonsuicidal self-injury, or NSSI. Young women in the midst of the ages of 14 and 18 years old take part in NSSI due to poor victimization of the relationship with their mothers, childhood abuse, and psychiatric dis browses. Although there are multiple ways of causing injury to oneself, cutting of the skin as a means of self-mutilation is give tongue to to be the most common (Ruberman 119). We will start out by examining the problems that occur during the relationship development between a mother and a fille at a young age.Gender role identity and body image are directly related to the relationship a young little girl has with her mother while she is growing up. During the young ages, a girl needs to feel accepted and positively identified by her mother in order to be happy with her femininity. Mothers play a very imp ortant role in helping young girls establish their self-esteem, because a young girls first role model is most often her mom (Daniluk & Usmiani 47). If this relationship somehow goes astray, the young girl may easily form a invalidating body image of herself. Behaviors of self abuse often occur right around the age of puberty, and the reaction to a negative self-esteem may essence in NSSI and cutting. According to Ruberman (120), girls who choose cutting as their means of self-injury are using their skin as a canvas to cut open and keep some control over their own body. This behavior is derived from the lack of control they feel they posses. Ruberman (120), states in her article that a mothers job is to nucleotide by her daughter as she grows from birth without interfering with her own fea... ...ans of communication when less intense strategies have failed, such as yelling or speaking. completely in all, the decision to take part in self-punishment is highly influenced by the behavior of others as we are growing up. Works CitedGlassman, L. H., Weierich, M. R., Hooley, J. M., Deliberto, T. L., & Nock, M. K. (2007). Childmaltreatment, non-suicidal self-injury, and the mediating role of self-criticism. doingsResearch & Therapy, 45(10), 2483-2490. doi10.1016/j.brat.2007.04.002.Ruberman, L. (2011). Girls who Cut Treatment in an outpatient psychodynamicpsychotherapy practice with adolescent girls and young adult women. AmericanJournal Of Psychotherapy, 65(2), 117-132.Usmiani, S., & Daniluk, J. (1997). Mothers and their adolescent daughters Relationship betweenself-esteem, gender role identity.. Journal Of Youth & Adolescence, 26(1), 45.