Self-Injury Location: Visible vs Concealed, with Dr. Kathryn Gardner

The Psychology of Self-Injury: Exploring Self-Harm & Mental Health

Does it matter where on the body someone cuts, whether on typically more visible sites such as the forearm and wrist, or in typically more concealed areas, such as the upper arm and torso? Is there a relationship between where someone cuts on their body and their likelihood of continuing to engage in the behavior? In this episode, Dr. Gardner discusses her research on the psychology of self-injury location and where on the body one chooses to self-injure as well as intrapersonal (emotional) reasons and interpersonal (social) reasons for engaging in self-injury and self-harm.

Learn more about Dr. Gardner and her work at https://www.uclan.ac.uk/academics/dr-kathryn-gardner, and follow her on Twitter @KathrynJGardner. Below are links to some of her research referenced in this episode:

1. Gardner, K. J., Bickley, H., Turnbull, P., Kapur, N., Taylor, P., & Clements, C. (2020). The significance of site of cut in self-harm in young people. Journal of Affective Disorders, 266, 603-609.
2. Gardner, K. J., Paul, E., Selby, E. A., Klonsky, E. D., Mars, B. (2021). Intrapersonal and interpersonal functions as pathways to future self-harm repetition and suicide attempts. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 688472.

Follow Dr. Westers on Instagram and Twitter (@DocWesters). To join ISSS, visit itriples.org and follow ISSS on Facebook and Twitter (@ITripleS).

The Psychology of Self-Injury podcast has been rated #5 by Feedspot in their "Best 20 Clinical Psychology Podcasts" and by Welp Magazine in their "20 Best Injury Podcasts."