|
The present study was intented to examine the experience rate and the general chracteristics of juvenile delinquents’ self-mutilation and to clarify the correlation between adolescent self-mutilation and delinquency. A questionnaire method was used to collect the basic data for the study, in which the subjects served were consisted of 757 juvenile delinquents(male 687, female 70) in 4 randomly selected juvenile reformatories of total 11 ones in Korea. Their age range was between 12 and 21. Results of the study are as follows. 1. The experience rate of juvenile delinquents’ self-mutilation was 54.3%(male 54.7%, female 50.0%), that of male being a little higher than of female. 2. Upper limbs were the most frequent body parts of self-mutilation. Among their self-reported motivations of self-mutilation, "Curiosity" was most frequent, and there was a variety of other motivations of "Uncontrollable rage." "Self-hatred," "heroic spirit", "Inducement of friends," "To threaten others," and so on. 3. The major means of self-mutilation used were "Burning with cigarette," "Broken bottle, glass fragment" and "Razor." And in the analysis by sex, there was a significant difference in that "Broken bottle,glass fragment" was more frequently used by male delinquents where as "Razor" and "Kitchen knife" were the instruments used more frequently by female delinquents. 4. More than half of the delinquent self-mutilators experienced "Feeling of repentance" after self-mutilation, and the others experienced various reactions of "Numbness," "Severe pain," "Security", "Depersonslization, and so on. 5. Among the self-mutilators around close to delinquent self-mutilators, "Close friend" and "Peer group" were most frequent, and in the analysis by age, "Family member" was more frequent in early age group, "Close friend" in middle age group, and "Peer group" in later age group respectively. 6. Rhe mean age of initial self-mutilation was 16.2(male 16.1, female 16.3), and the age range of initial self-mutilation was between 5 and 19. 74.4% of delinquent self-mutilators experienced self-mutilation for the first time before age 17, and 1.4% before age 12, too.
|