Certainty, Revision, and Ambivalence: A Qualitative Investigation into Women's Journeys to Stop Self-Injuring

Abstract

Based on in-depth interviews, this study utilizes grounded theory, interpretive poetics, and voice-centered analytic methods to investigate how six college women stop self-injuring. Findings illuminate that this process involves multiple factors beyond whether or not a woman desires to stop. These include: subjective meanings of the behavior, a decrease in psychological catalysts, self-initiative, life engagements, relational ties, professional treatment, disclosure experiences, motivators, and momentum. Treatment implications suggest that a woman's attitude toward stopping may point toward particular interventions.

Key Words:

• Self-injury
• self-mutilation
• cutting
• recovery
• healing
• qualitative methods