Mental body representations of women with tattoos in emerging adulthood - a cluster analysis

Tattoo is a permanent body modification relevant to women's bodily experiences. Previous studies on the population of tattooers have focused mainly on searching for negative or positive aspects of tattooing, mainly in the field of self-esteem. The aim of this study was to explore the mental body representations of tattooed women during emerging adulthood. Three hundred and twenty-seven women with tattoos, aged 18 to 25 (M = 21.48; SD = 2.05), participated in the study. In the study, we adopted a quantitative research project; the data for analysis was obtained from questionnaires that were completed online between January and March 2021. Women with tattoos completed a survey containing demographic questions, questions regarding their tattoos, the Battery of Tests of Body Self Representations, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Based on that a cluster analysis, we have discovered three types of mental body representations that may characterize them: (1) unstable, (2) disordered, and (3) integrated. The study showed that having a tattoo is associated with experiencing carnality in a specific way.

Body modifications in borderline personality disorder patients: prevalence rates, link with non-suicidal self-injury, and related psychopathology

BACKGROUND

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a potentially severe personality disorder, characterized by difficulties in emotion regulation and control of behaviors. It is often associated with non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). Borderline personality features have also been linked to body modifications (BMs). However, the prevalence of BMs, the link between BMs and NSSI, and between BMs and several psychopathology dimensions (e.g. borderline severity, emotion regulation, impulsivity …) remains understudied in patients with BPD. This study aims to fill this gap, and to provide further evidence on the link between NSSI and BMs.

METHODS

We used data from a psychiatric outpatient center located in Switzerland (n = 116), specialized in the assessment and treatment of BPD patients. Patients underwent several semi-structured interviews and self-report psychometric scales at the arrival, and the data were retrospectively analyzed.

RESULTS

We found that 70.69% of the patients had one piercing or more, and 69.83% were tattooed. The total score of body modifications and the total number of piercings score of piercings were significantly positively associated with NSSI and the SCID BPD total score. The association with the SCID score was mainly driven by the "suicide and self-damaging behaviors" item and the "chronic feeling of emptiness" item. A significant association was found between total number of piercings and emotion dysregulation. On the other hand, the self-reported percentage of body covered by tattoos score was specifically associated with the sensation seeking subscale of the UPPS-P.

CONCLUSION

This study provides evidence on the prevalence of BMs in BPD patients, and on the link between BMs and NSSI in this population, suggesting a role of emotion regulation in the link between both constructs. These results also suggests that tattoos and piercings may be differentially linked to specific underlying psychological mechanisms. This calls for further considerations of body modifications in the assessment and care of BPD patients.

The associations between photo-editing and body concerns among females: A systematic review

Emerging research has raised concerns about the growing prevalence of photo-editing behaviour and how this may negatively interact with body-related concerns among females. This review aimed to systematically examine the current evidence relating to the associations between photo-editing behaviour and female body concerns, including body image, body dissatisfaction and body modification. Six databases were searched for studies investigating associations between photo-editing and body concerns in female social media users. Empirical studies published in English were included if they quantitatively measured the association between photo-editing and at least one of the body-related outcomes, and included female participants. A narrative synthesis of the 22 studies meeting these specific criteria was completed. This review revealed mixed findings in relation to the associations between photo-editing and body concerns. The findings indicate there may be a more complex relationship between both concepts that is influenced by alternative factors. The findings also revealed considerable heterogeneity in measurement approaches for both photo-editing behaviour and body-related outcomes. Future research should focus on developing a gold-standard approach to the measurement of various body-related concerns and conducting in-depth analyses in order to further understand the complex relationship between photo-editing and female social media users' body concerns.

The association of childhood abuse and neglect with tattoos and piercings in the population: evidence from a representative community survey

BACKGROUND

Tattoos and piercings are becoming increasingly popular in many countries around the world. Individuals seeking such body modifications have reported diverse psychological motives. Besides purely superficial considerations, tattoos and piercings can also have a deep, personal meaning. For example, they can mark and support the emotional processing of significant life events, including formative experiences from early childhood. However, there is a lack of studies that examine the links of tattoos and piercings with experiences of childhood abuse and neglect in large, population-based samples.

METHODS

We investigated the association of reports of childhood abuse and neglect with the acquisition of body modifications (tattoos and piercings) within a representative German community sample. Survey participants (N = 1060; ages 14-44 years) were questioned whether they had tattoos and piercings and filled out the 28-item Childhood Trauma Questionnaire Short Form (CTQ-SF).

RESULTS

Tattoos and piercings were more common among individuals who reported childhood abuse and neglect. The proportion of participants with tattoos and piercings increased as a function of the severity of all assessed types of abuse and neglect (emotional, physical, and sexual abuse; emotional and physical neglect). In logistic regression analyses which included the covariates age, gender, education, and income, the sum of significant kinds of childhood abuse and neglect was positively related to having tattoos and/or piercings (OR = 1.37 [95% CI 1.19-1.58]).

CONCLUSIONS

The results corroborate previous research indicating that body modifications could have special significance for individuals who have survived adversity, in particular interpersonal trauma at the hands of caregivers. These findings could inform screening procedures and low-threshold access to psychotherapeutic care.

A guide to classify tattoo motives in Mexico as a tool to identify unknown bodies

Justification

In Mexico, the number of unidentified bodies has been steadily rising for years. By now, more than 50,000 bodies are considered unidentified. Forensic laboratories that could perform comparative molecular genetic investigation are often overburdened and examinations can take months. Therefore, pragmatic approaches that can help to identify more unknown bodies must be sought. The increased use of distinctive physical features might be one, and the high rate of tattooed people in Mexico points towards a great potential of tattoos as a tool for identification. The prerequisite for a comparison of antemortem (missing persons) and postmortem (unknown bodies) data is an objective description of the particularities, e.g., of the tattoos. The aim of this study was to establish an objective classification for tattoo motives, taking into consideration local preferences.

Methods

In the database of the medicolegal services of the Instituto Jaliscience de Ciencias Forenses (IJCF) in Guadalajara, postmortem data of 1000 tattooed bodies from 2019 were evaluated. According to sex and age, the tattooed body localization and the tattoo motives were categorized.

Results

The 1000 tattooed deceased showed tattoos on 2342 body localizations. The motives were grouped and linked to the following 11 keywords (with decreasing frequency): letters/numbers, human, symbol (other), plant, symbol (religious), animal, object, fantasy/demon/comic, tribal/ornament/geometry, other, unrecognizable.

Conclusion

Using the proposed classification, tattoo motives can be described objectively and classified in a practical way. If used for antemortem (missing persons) and postmortem (unknown bodies) documentation, motives can be searched and compared efficiently—helping to identify unknown bodies.

Paleopathological research in continental China: Introduction to the Special Issue

We set out to assemble this Special Issue of IJPP with three goals in mind: (1) to familiarize Anglophone readers with research on paleopathology conducted by Chinese scholars; (2) to enhance interest in paleopathological research among Chinese scholars, and to foster the use of differential diagnosis as the key mode of paleopathological analysis; and (3) to initiate integration of pathological analysis of human skeletal collections with historical records documenting early medical practices, epidemics, development and age-related diseases, and demographic records. The collection of papers that follows presents new data, from a range of time periods and geographic and social contexts, that we feel reflect the diversity, dynamism, and enormous scope of archaeology in China today. Themes such as infectious disease history, interpersonal violence, and comorbidity as a methodological issue are addressed by multiple papers. However, as the special issue developed, we also came to a slow appreciation of structural constraints that made our original goals difficult to attain within the current state of our discipline, of which the language barrier represents only a minor issue. This introductory paper is intended to contextualize the Special Issue, and help readers understand the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that influence paleopathological research in China and its interactions with similar research in other parts of the world. :IJPP，:(1);(2)，;(3)、、。、，、。、。，，，，。，，.

Osteological characteristics of Chinese foot-binding in archaeological remains

Foot-binding was a widespread custom in China for hundreds of years, though the severity and type of binding varied considerably over time and space. To examine the morphological consequences of extremely severe foot-binding, this paper uses 35 sets of bound and 33 sets of unbound foot bones, from the remains of women excavated from the Xinzhi cemetery in northern Shandong Province. Based on macroscopic observation, CT slices, and measurements of bound foot bones, multiple distinctive consequences of foot-binding were identified. Compared with normal bones, bound foot bones have severely reduced overall size and weight. The density of trabecular mesh was reduced and its structure was altered in all tarsal bones. While the talus and navicular bones of bound feet retained all major groups of trabeculae, the calcaneus experienced massive trabecular loss, suggesting that in a bound foot the calcaneus lost its weight bearing function and its role in plantarflexion. The severity of changes was greater in the laterally positioned foot bones, i.e. the lateral cuneiform, the cuboid, and 4^th and 5^th metatarsals, than in the medial ones, showing that most of the body weight in the bound foot was transmitted along the first ray. Degenerative osteoarthritic changes affected articular surfaces of the foot bones, even in young individuals. These changes suggest that the biomechanics of bipedal locomotion were considerably affected in all females with severely bound feet.

A bioarchaeological and biocultural investigation of Chinese footbinding at the Xuecun archaeological site, Henan Province, China

From 2005-2006 the Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Henan Province, excavated the Xuecun cemetery as part of a salvage archaeology project associated with the South to North Water Diversion Project. This gave a unique opportunity to examine burials from the Ming-Qing Dynasties (1360-1911). Burials from this period are seldom excavated as the Chinese, do not want to disturb their direct ancestors. This is one of the first studies to examine the paleopathological consequences for footbinding in China. A total of 202 individuals were analyzed for evidence of bound feet: including the loss of musculature in the legs, alterations to muscle attachments, changes in the morphology of the tarsals, metatarsals, and phalanges, and signs of infection and trauma. Length and width measurements of tarsals, metatarsal, and phalanges were taken from all females with observable bones. T-test results confirmed a significant difference in tarsal and metatarsal length/width. The incidence of footbinding also increased through time from no evidence in the Han Dynasty, Tang Dynasty, Song Dynasty, and Jin Dynasty, to a dramatic increase in the late Ming Dynasty to Qing Dynasty.

Foot binding in a Ming dynasty cemetery near Xi'an, China

This paper describes the morphology of the feet of a population of elite women from the Ming dynasty (1368-1644 CE) in Shaanxi province. This is a social stratum, time, and place in which foot binding was practiced. Among a group of 31 skeletons exhumed from the cemetery, eight were women with well-preserved foot bones. Macroscopic examination revealed that half these women (4/8) had clearly altered foot bones: the metatarsal bones, and the few observable phalanges, were gracile and small, while the tarsal bones exhibited a slight reduction in size but no dramatic change in morphology. The other half of the women (4/8) had apparently unmodified metatarsal bones. T-tests comparing linear measurements of the foot bones between the two groups revealed that metatarsal bones were the most affected by binding, and among the tarsal bones, the talar trochlea and calcaneal dimensions were most impacted. This small group of skeletons reveals that some elite women in Shaanxi apparently still did not practice foot binding in the late Ming dynasty, or practiced a much milder form of foot binding, and that there was considerable variation even among those who did practice it.

TATTOOS: What Do People Really Know About the Medical Risks of Body Ink?

Background: Tattoos have become increasing popular; however, medical complications and health risks can occur when getting a tattoo. Aim: The objective of this study is to determine whether people are properly informed about the medical risks and complications associated with tattoos and how the level of knowledge differs between those who have gotten tattooed and those who have not. Method: A cross-sectional online survey was performed. One-hundred participants had tattoos (32% male, 67% female) and 111 had no tattoos (53% male, 47% female); the average age was 26.9 years; level of education of both groups was comparable. There was a considerable (but not significant) difference between the two randomly selected samples with respect to sex and age, but both variables had no significant influence on the knowledge about medical risks, so no adjustment of the groups was carried out. The following variables were examined: demographics, characteristics of the tattoo, the intensity of the decision-making process that participants underwent before getting a tattoo, and the knowledge of medical risks and complications of tattoos. Results: More than 50 percent of the answers from both groups were incorrect (i.e., 55% of the answers from tattooed subjects were incorrect, and 58% of the non-tattooed group were incorrect). Neither sex (t-test, p=0.81) nor age (t-test, p=0.11) had any significant influence on the presence of knowledge. No significant correlations between sociodemographic variables and knowledge of medical risks of tattoos were found. No differences were found between characteristics of the tattoo and knowledge of medical risks apart from the size of the tattooed area (i.e., the larger the tattoo, the more information was sought by the person being tattooed). Differences were also found between educational levels and the knowledge of medical risks and complications of tattoos. Conclusions: Educating the public on the medical risks of tattoos might assist individuals in making more optimally informed decisions regarding whether to get a tattoo.

Identity and schizophrenia: Who do I want to be?

Many individuals with schizophrenia have occasional difficulty defining both to themselves and to others who they truly are. Perhaps for this reason they make attempts to change core aspects of themselves. These attempts may be delusional, but are too often unjustly dismissed as delusional before the potential value of the change is considered. Instead of facilitation, obstacles are placed in the way of hoped-for body modifications or changes of name or of religious faith. This paper discusses the various changes of identity sometimes undertaken by individuals with schizophrenia who may or may not be deluded. Ethical and clinical ramifications are discussed. The recommendation is made that, when clinicians respond to requests for help with identity change, safety needs to be the main consideration.

From psychiatric symptom to diagnostic category: self-harm from the Victorians to DSM-5

It is rare that a symptom becomes a disease entity. 'Self-harm' is now a full-fledged diagnostic category for DSM-5. The existing literature of the topic posits that it is a trans-historical psychiatric category and that examples of self-harm can be found from the earliest written records, which is part of the underlying argument for its inclusion in DSM-5. But how old is self-harm and indeed what defines 'self-harm' historically and culturally?