An interpretative phenomenological analysis of the experience of self-harm repetition and recovery in young adults

Six young adults (19–21) with repeat self-harm for over five years were interviewed about their self-harm, why they continued and what factors might help them to stop. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis identified six themes: Keeping self-harm private and hidden; Self-harm as self-punishment;...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Wadman, Ruth, Clarke, David, Sayal, Kapil, Vostanis, Panos, Armstrong, Marie, Harroe, Caroline, Majumder, Pallab, Townsend, Ellen
Format: Article
Published: SAGE 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/31528/
_version_ 1848794219818254336
author Wadman, Ruth
Clarke, David
Sayal, Kapil
Vostanis, Panos
Armstrong, Marie
Harroe, Caroline
Majumder, Pallab
Townsend, Ellen
author_facet Wadman, Ruth
Clarke, David
Sayal, Kapil
Vostanis, Panos
Armstrong, Marie
Harroe, Caroline
Majumder, Pallab
Townsend, Ellen
author_sort Wadman, Ruth
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Six young adults (19–21) with repeat self-harm for over five years were interviewed about their self-harm, why they continued and what factors might help them to stop. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis identified six themes: Keeping self-harm private and hidden; Self-harm as self-punishment; Self-harm provides relief and comfort; Habituation and escalation of self-harm; Emotional gains and practical costs of cutting; Not believing they will stop completely. Young adults presented self-harm as an ingrained and purposeful behaviour which they could not stop, despite the costs and risks in early adulthood. Support strategies focused on coping skills, not just eradicating self-harm, are required.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T19:12:43Z
format Article
id nottingham-31528
institution University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T19:12:43Z
publishDate 2016
publisher SAGE
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling nottingham-315282020-05-04T17:42:44Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/31528/ An interpretative phenomenological analysis of the experience of self-harm repetition and recovery in young adults Wadman, Ruth Clarke, David Sayal, Kapil Vostanis, Panos Armstrong, Marie Harroe, Caroline Majumder, Pallab Townsend, Ellen Six young adults (19–21) with repeat self-harm for over five years were interviewed about their self-harm, why they continued and what factors might help them to stop. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis identified six themes: Keeping self-harm private and hidden; Self-harm as self-punishment; Self-harm provides relief and comfort; Habituation and escalation of self-harm; Emotional gains and practical costs of cutting; Not believing they will stop completely. Young adults presented self-harm as an ingrained and purposeful behaviour which they could not stop, despite the costs and risks in early adulthood. Support strategies focused on coping skills, not just eradicating self-harm, are required. SAGE 2016-03-06 Article PeerReviewed Wadman, Ruth, Clarke, David, Sayal, Kapil, Vostanis, Panos, Armstrong, Marie, Harroe, Caroline, Majumder, Pallab and Townsend, Ellen (2016) An interpretative phenomenological analysis of the experience of self-harm repetition and recovery in young adults. Journal of Health Psychology . pp. 1-11. ISSN 1461-7277 Self-Harm Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) Young Adults Qualitative Methods http://hpq.sagepub.com/content/early/2016/03/05/1359105316631405 doi:10.1177/1359105316631405 doi:10.1177/1359105316631405
spellingShingle Self-Harm
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA)
Young Adults
Qualitative Methods
Wadman, Ruth
Clarke, David
Sayal, Kapil
Vostanis, Panos
Armstrong, Marie
Harroe, Caroline
Majumder, Pallab
Townsend, Ellen
An interpretative phenomenological analysis of the experience of self-harm repetition and recovery in young adults
title An interpretative phenomenological analysis of the experience of self-harm repetition and recovery in young adults
title_full An interpretative phenomenological analysis of the experience of self-harm repetition and recovery in young adults
title_fullStr An interpretative phenomenological analysis of the experience of self-harm repetition and recovery in young adults
title_full_unstemmed An interpretative phenomenological analysis of the experience of self-harm repetition and recovery in young adults
title_short An interpretative phenomenological analysis of the experience of self-harm repetition and recovery in young adults
title_sort interpretative phenomenological analysis of the experience of self-harm repetition and recovery in young adults
topic Self-Harm
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA)
Young Adults
Qualitative Methods
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/31528/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/31528/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/31528/