The NSSI Paradox: Discussing and Displaying NSSI in an Online Environment

ABSTRACT

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is commonly shared online. In the offline world, secrecy is a sign of “real” or authentic self-injury; therefore, openly sharing NSSI in the online context could be considered a paradoxical behavior. We explored how users of an online NSSI site negotiated this apparent paradox. Contrary to our expectations, contributing text and photographs to an online site did not appear to compromise authentic identity. We suggest this was because they were presented in the form of an anonymous public display, which meant that posters could maintain their (secret) identity as individuals who genuinely engage in NSSI.

Acknowledgments

We thank the reviewer for providing constructive comments.

Funding

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Additional information

Funding

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Notes on contributors

Karen Rodham

KAREN RODHAM is a Professor of Health Psychology at Staffordshire University. Her experience both as a practitioner and an academic has informed her approach to research. She focuses on exploring how people cope with complex and chronic health conditions. She is committed to ensuring that her research has relevance; not only for the academic community, but also for practitioners.

Jeffrey Gavin

JEFFREY GAVIN is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the University of Bath. As a critical social psychologist, he has established a program of research examining how identities are constructed and negotiated through online communication. His current research explores the role of social media in young people’s relationships and support, as well as the risks associated with sharing digital images and texts with peers. As these areas cut across several academic fields, Dr Gavin’s research is often interdisciplinary, involving collaborations with computer scientists, forensic psychologists, and healthcare professionals, as well as industry partners such as uDate and Match.com. On the basis of his own research experience, as well as roles on various university research ethics committees, Dr. Gavin has also co-authored several scholarly articles on online research ethics.

Stephen Lewis

STEPHEN LEWIS, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Guelph. His research has been featured in various news outlets, including The New York Times, Time, USA Today, Reuters, and ABC. He is co-author of the book Non-Suicidal Self-Injury, which is part of the Advances in Psychotherapy series by the Society of Clinical Psychology (APA Division 12). He is an invited member of the International Society for the Study of Self-Injury (ISSS), where he currently sits on the Executive Board. Dr. Lewis is also Co-Founder and Co-Director of Self-Injury Outreach & Support (www.sioutreach.org), an international outreach initiative providing current information and resources to individuals who self-injure as well as their families, friends, teachers, and the health professionals who work with them. His research program examines non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and related mental health difficulties among youth and emerging adults using the Internet as a research platform and outreach tool. Specific areas of investigation include: (a) online NSSI communication, (b) ways to increase youth’s access to NSSI resources, (c) mental health literacy, (d) NSSI recovery experiences, and (e) ways to enhance the knowledge and training of those who can support youth who struggle with NSSI and other mental health difficulties.

Peter Bandalli

PETER BANDALLI is a Clinical Psychologist who has recently completed his training at the University of Birmingham. Before training in Clinical Psychology he undertook a research Ph.D. in the area of deliberate self-harm at the University of Bath. His areas of specialization are in Eating Disorders, Deliberate Self-Harm, and Personality Disorders.

Jill St. Denis

JILL ST. DENIS is a doctoral student in the Department of Psychology at the University of Guelph. She also received her M.A. in Child Clinical Psychology from the University of Guelph. Her research interests are in the areas of child and adolescent mental health, sexual identity, and non-suicidal self-injury.