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Qualitative Health Research
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Investigating the "Self" in Deliberate Self-Harm

Joanna Adams

Child & Family Consultation Service, South Essex NHS Trust, United Kingdom

Karen Rodham

University of Bath, United Kingdom

Jeff Gavin

Department of Psychology, University of Bath, United Kingdom

In this study, the authors explored how a group of young people aged 16 to 26 years (who identified themselves as having engaged in deliberate self-harm) made sense of the self by conducting two online focus groups and four e-mail interviews. They analyzed data using interpretive phenomenological analysis. The concept of validation was the primary means of making sense of the self and concerned the desire to be considered legitimate and of worth. This desire was clearly evident across three realms of conflict: (a) the intrinsic or extrinsic self, which marked the distinction between objective fact and subjective opinion; (b) the accepted or denied self; and (c) the notion of normality. It is possible that having one’s denied self validated online might lead to an exacerbation of an individual’s self-harming behavior. Further work is needed to explore the effects of online discussion forums on such taboo forms of behavior.

Key Words: deliberate self-harm • qualitative research • Internet • online

Qualitative Health Research, Vol. 15, No. 10, 1293-1309 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/1049732305281761
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