Never thought I would need to know so much about this. Found out today that my daughter has been cutting herself. Not a lot, and not for long, and not severely. Enough to cause concern at school and freak me out a bit.
Roz, so sorry to hear about your daughter! Did you consider about taking her to a child psychologist? My experience as a teacher with at least 3 girls who did the same thing, indicated a traumatic experience (either past or present) that made them hurt themselves.
Direct and not indirect childhood abuse linked to non-suicidal self-injury in adolescents
Adolescents who were physically abused or sexually abused were more likely to engage in non-suicidal self-injury than their non-abused counterparts, according to a new study. Ref. Source 3l.
I can see this being a cause but I do not think it is the only cause. Lots of teens have some issues and if they do not have someone they can talk to they may interanlize it and that could lead to cutting or self harm. I hope that more parents realize this and take steps to always have good open relationship with their teens.
KN,
I agree with you here. I know a kid that did this and there was no abuse. There were other issues involved and it a way call out for help. When she got that help theses actions stopped. I'm not saying this can't be reason, but I am saying not to jump to conclusions.