Annotated Bibliography

The three articles that have been selected are directly associated with the phenomenon of self-injurious behavior. The question as to why self-injury takes place, whether self-destructive behavior is originated in childhood and possible factors that may play a part and the study of two women cutting as a means to cope are discussed in the following three articles. The first article conducted a study to identify why people injure themselves. It was found that there are three main reasons that are indicative of self-injury. Self-Punishment, Coping with emotions, and extreme rage are three primary reasons people engage in harming themselves. The second article finds that trauma encountered in childhood plays a significant part in the initial participation in self-destructive behavior. In addition, a person without secure attachments is more apt to continue self-destructive behavior. The third article presented illustrated two personal accounts of self-injurious behavior. The two women in the study were found to have exhibited this behavior because of insufficient coping skills. Both women had also faced some form of childhood trauma that aided in this behavior. I chose these articles in the area of self-injury because it is prevalent in adolescents and increasing at an alarming rate. The American academy of child and adolescent psychiatry states that 5%, which is roughly 3.4 million children, suffer from severe depression. NIMH research suggests that adolescents with a depressive disorder, up to 7% may commit suicide. Poor coping skills are directly related to suicide in school age children (Depressed Child.Org, 2012). One of the chosen articles supports the fact that poor coping skills are one of the three major factors leading to self-injury. I would like to learn more on this issue and contribute to the decrease in numbers resulting in less self-injurious behaviors that can often lead to suicide.

The credibility of the three scholarly articles

References: Faculty Profile T. Byram Karasu, M.D. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.einstein.yu.edu/faculty/526/t-byram-karasu/ Haas, B., & Popp, F. (2006). Why do people injure themselves? Psychopathology, 39(1), 10-8. http://dx.doi.org/https://library.gcu.edu:2443/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/233345077?accountid=7374 Ruberman, L. (2011). Girls who cut Treatment in an Outpatient Psychodynamic Girls who cut Treatment in an Outpatient Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Practice with Adolescent Girls and Young Adult Women. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 65(2), 117-132. http://dx.doi.org/https://library.gcu.edu:2443/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/888044058?accountid=7374 Take Charge of the Care of Your Child. (2001). Retrieved from http://www.depressedchild.org/index.htm Van Der Kolk, B. A., Perry, J. C., & Herman, J. L. (1991). Childhood origins of self-destructive behavior. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 148(12), 1665-71. http://dx.doi.org/https://library.gcu.edu:2443/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/220471595?accountid=7374 WHAT IS A SCHOLARLY OR PEER REVIEWED JOURNAL? (2012). Retrieved from http://knowledgecenter.unr.edu/default.aspx