The self and self-harm – toward a more nuanced understanding of self-harm in adolescence

Self-harm is increasing in many countries, and especially among adolescent girls between 12 and 15 years of age. In the following, I will introduce the phenomenon of self-harm and give a short historical view of the function of self-harm. I will present findings from qualitative studies and highlight the importance of relating subjective reasons for self-harm during adolescence to developmental and relational perspectives. I argue that self-harm is closely related to self-experience and, further, that diversities in the form and semantic content of a persons’ meaning making of self-harm may provide information about affect-integration and self-representation. Three prototypical self-representations are discussed – “the punished self”, “the unknown self”, and “the harmed self”. Knowledge of how self-harm can be related to self-experience and self-representation may enhance self-understanding and treatment motivation and inform clinical adjustment.