One out of five college students self mutilate

Can you imagine the number of students on your caseload if that figure were almost one fifth of your school’s entire population?

Its possible.

It would be a reality if the number of students in a recent study of self mutilation rates among college students are accurate, and that entire group came to you with a proper diagnosis.

Let me explain.
I was doing some web research this morning when I came across an article from Fox News. The article actually ran in early June and is about
self mutilation rates among college students
at two Ivy League universities, Cornell and Princeton. The frequency rate at these two colleges is nearly twenty percent. That’s one out of every five students.

The scope of this study includes not only cutting, but also burning and other methods of self injurious behavior.

According to the article, the frequency rates are similar to those reported at colleges, high schools, and middle schools across the nationn. It also reported more than 400 web sites dedicated to the subject of self mutilation.

After the earlier post here about cutting rates among young people on the wholeI felt compelled to provide additional information on this subject, as it is particular to college students.

In this Fox article, not only was this survey conducted with actual college students, but at two of the supposedly more elite universities of our country. If it is happening at this frequency there, there is a strong likelihood that it is happening at your school at similar rates.

These students have a noticeable psychological condition due to the dysfunction their behavior is causing in their daily living. The same question that was raised in the previous post on cutting can be raised again. If a student self identifies about the underlying psychological condition at the root of their cutting, what accommodations do DSS professionals make?

Just food for thought.

Cutting on the rise among young people

For the first post here, aside from the introductory one below, I want to toss out some food for thought and, hopefully, create some discussion. Think about it, share it with your colleagues, then give your thoughts in the comments section.

According to an Aug. 6, 2006 article in the Houston Chronicle,
Cuttings are on the rise among young people.


The profile identified in the article as the “typical cutter” seems to parallel traditional college student demographics. (For non-Houstonians, the locales describe some diverse slices of social economic status.)


“There is no neat profile of a cutter. Typically they are younger, teens or 20-somethings, slightly more females than males. Their homes range from Katy to Clear Lake to Galveston, jobs from students to mall workers to mothers, personal issues from bulimia to rape to incurable sadness. Even their methods vary, from razors to crushed Coke cans to safety pins, hundreds of cuts daily to one every few months.”

Here’s the logical line of thinking I thought of when reading this article:
Being these are teens to 20-somethings, there would seem to be a high probability that most college campuses have some cutters in their student population. Self mutilation is a physical expression of some sort of psychological dysfunction. Being that this psychological problem would be addressed by a counselor or medical professional, this is, of course, covered as a psychological disability for DSS purposes.

And, here is the food for thought question:
Granted that a student who is a cutter would have to self disclose, and that the specific individual diagnosis will vary from case to case, what accommodations might be best implemented to address a student who cuts on him/herself?


If you find this blog post useful, interesting, or even if you think it is a complete off the mark indulgence, please share your thoughts in the comments section.

On a final note, if you think this blog is interesting and worthhwhile, please share it with your colleagues. There is a link below that will allow you to email this post. Or, just send them a link to the blog. It is an easy page to remember: accessability.blogspot.com

Thank you for your time and feedback.