Childhood sexual abuse has only become a societal issue in the past several decades. Consequently there is a lack of research, much of which began in the 1980’s. Finkelhor and Brown (1986) defined sexual abuse as any sexual activity involving a child under eighteen in which the other person is five or more years older [...]

Although all behavior that causes tissues damage should be assessed for lethality, the intent of self-mutilating behavior is one of reaffirming life. So no, it is not a suicidal act and the person should not be treated as if they had attempted to end their life. Adolescents and adults who self-injure generally do not have [...]

Self-injurious behavior is no longer seen as novel or unusual behavior. When I asked a college student what she thought about such behavior, she replied that she thought it was stupid, but it certainly was common. People are inundated with this behavior. Real World San Diego had a “cutter” on its show. Several popular television [...]