Självskadebeteende- två unga mäns berättelser
Self-injurious behaviorYoung menBackground factorsFunctionsEndSjälvskadebeteendeUnga mänBakgrundsfaktorerFunktionerAvslutning
This essay is focused on the phenomena of self-injurious behavior of two young men. The purpose of the essay is to enlighten their experiences of their earlier self-injurious behavior, and to further enlighten which factors they believe have been contributed to the origin and the ending of the behavior. The research questions the essay raises are: Which factors has contributed to the origin of the self-injurious behavior? Which functions did the self-injurious behavior have for the young men? What made the two young men quit their self-injurious behavior? The essay is qualitative and do not imply to generalize the results and it is made from interviews with respondents and earlier research on self-injurious behavior. The results show that there are differences in the factors that origin of the self-injurious behavior between the respondents. The differences are for example the family situation and experiences of childhood traumas. There are also similarities in the origin of the self-injurious behavior, both respondents have had experiences of rejection from the environment. There are several differences between the respondents in the functions of the self-injurious behavior. One of the respondents used the self-injurious behavior to end a state of dissociation, other differences were the frequency and procedure of the self-injurious behavior. There are also similarities in the functions with the self-injurious behavior between both respondents, for them it was a way to cope with difficult situations and to let out emotions for example anxiety. There are differences in factors that can be correlated with the ending of the self-injurious behavior among the respondents. One of the respondents claims the positive treatment of his surroundings and therapy, when his self-injurious behavior became known, was contributing factors to the ending of hurting himself. The other respondent claims that a sense of responsibility for someone else was the most important factor in ending the self-injurious behavior. A similarity in the ending of the self-injurious behavior among the respondents is that both of them could manage to express their feelings and experiences in words. One of the conclusions is that self-injurious behavior among the young men, referring to the origin, function and ending of the behavior, shows many similarities with young women who has a self-injurious behavior.