{"id":{"repo_id":"qu-belfast","oai_identifier":"oai:pure.qub.ac.uk/portal:studenttheses/d12dd0bd-714b-4a70-83d8-2959c01e71b4"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/qu-belfast/oai:pure.qub.ac.uk/portal:studenttheses/d12dd0bd-714b-4a70-83d8-2959c01e71b4","repository":{"repo_id":"qu-belfast","name":"Queen's University Belfast","base_url":"https://pureadmin.qub.ac.uk/ws/oai"},"display":{"title":"Blades, Blood and Bandages: A Qualitative Investigation of Self-Injury","abstract":"The perspective of the individual who self-injures has been under-represented in research. This study places the meaning of self-injury for these individuals at its core. People who self-injure can offer comprehensive and discerning insights into the behaviour. This study confirms the findings of earlier research that self-injury is often rooted in processes of suffering. The social and personal cost experienced by people who self-injure can be high, not only in direct relation to the self-injury itself, but also regarding the legacy of the processes of suffering in general from which self-injury emerged. In this study the processes of suffering, ritual and stigma are explored. Using a qualitative approach, data was collected from 25 self-injuring participants though semi-structured interviews. Interview data was supplemented by diaries and collections of poetry. The main findings from the study are that self-injury can emerge as an action scheme of escape from the processes of suffering. It is a highly stigmatised behaviour which can also develop into an extremely ritualised practice involving a complexity of meanings regarding the surroundings, the apparatus and the process. The self-injury ritual can be viewed as an extreme but therapeutic workout for the five senses of the human body.","abstract_html":"The perspective of the individual who self-injures has been under-represented in research. This study places the meaning of self-injury for these individuals at its core. People who self-injure can offer comprehensive and discerning insights into the behaviour. This study confirms the findings of earlier research that self-injury is often rooted in processes of suffering. The social and personal cost experienced by people who self-injure can be high, not only in direct relation to the self-injury itself, but also regarding the legacy of the processes of suffering in general from which self-injury emerged. In this study the processes of suffering, ritual and stigma are explored. Using a qualitative approach, data was collected from 25 self-injuring participants though semi-structured interviews. Interview data was supplemented by diaries and collections of poetry. The main findings from the study are that self-injury can emerge as an action scheme of escape from the processes of suffering. It is a highly stigmatised behaviour which can also develop into an extremely ritualised practice involving a complexity of meanings regarding the surroundings, the apparatus and the process. The self-injury ritual can be viewed as an extreme but therapeutic workout for the five senses of the human body.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["McShane, Theresa"],"institution":"Queen's University Belfast","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"Doctoral Thesis","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2008,"date_issued":"2008-9-15","date_published":"2008-9-15","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:54:46Z","subjects":["Self-injury","ritual","stigma","suffering"],"languages":["eng"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["oai:pure.qub.ac.uk/portal:studenttheses/d12dd0bd-714b-4a70-83d8-2959c01e71b4"],"render_values":[{"text":"oai:pure.qub.ac.uk/portal:studenttheses/d12dd0bd-714b-4a70-83d8-2959c01e71b4","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://pure.qub.ac.uk/en/studentTheses/d12dd0bd-714b-4a70-83d8-2959c01e71b4","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["McShane, Theresa"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2008-9-15"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2008-9-15"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.department","label":"Dc Publisher Department","values":["School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.institution","label":"Dc Publisher Institution","values":["Queen's University Belfast"]},{"key":"dc:relation.isreferencedby","label":"Dc Relation Isreferencedby","values":["https://pure.qub.ac.uk/en/studentTheses/d12dd0bd-714b-4a70-83d8-2959c01e71b4"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationlevel","label":"Dc Type Qualificationlevel","values":["Doctoral Thesis"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationname","label":"Dc Type Qualificationname","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Self-injury","ritual","stigma","suffering"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["eng"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["oai:pure.qub.ac.uk/portal:studenttheses/d12dd0bd-714b-4a70-83d8-2959c01e71b4","https://pure.qub.ac.uk/en/studentTheses/d12dd0bd-714b-4a70-83d8-2959c01e71b4"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The perspective of the individual who self-injures has been under-represented in research. This study places the meaning of self-injury for these individuals at its core. People who self-injure can offer comprehensive and discerning insights into the behaviour. This study confirms the findings of earlier research that self-injury is often rooted in processes of suffering. The social and personal cost experienced by people who self-injure can be high, not only in direct relation to the self-injury itself, but also regarding the legacy of the processes of suffering in general from which self-injury emerged. In this study the processes of suffering, ritual and stigma are explored. Using a qualitative approach, data was collected from 25 self-injuring participants though semi-structured interviews. Interview data was supplemented by diaries and collections of poetry. The main findings from the study are that self-injury can emerge as an action scheme of escape from the processes of suffering. It is a highly stigmatised behaviour which can also develop into an extremely ritualised practice involving a complexity of meanings regarding the surroundings, the apparatus and the process. The self-injury ritual can be viewed as an extreme but therapeutic workout for the five senses of the human body."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Blades, Blood and Bandages: A Qualitative Investigation of Self-Injury"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["McShane, Theresa"],"dc:date":["2008-9-15"],"dc:date.issued":["2008-9-15"],"dc:description.abstract":["The perspective of the individual who self-injures has been under-represented in research. This study places the meaning of self-injury for these individuals at its core. People who self-injure can offer comprehensive and discerning insights into the behaviour. This study confirms the findings of earlier research that self-injury is often rooted in processes of suffering. The social and personal cost experienced by people who self-injure can be high, not only in direct relation to the self-injury itself, but also regarding the legacy of the processes of suffering in general from which self-injury emerged. In this study the processes of suffering, ritual and stigma are explored. Using a qualitative approach, data was collected from 25 self-injuring participants though semi-structured interviews. Interview data was supplemented by diaries and collections of poetry. The main findings from the study are that self-injury can emerge as an action scheme of escape from the processes of suffering. It is a highly stigmatised behaviour which can also develop into an extremely ritualised practice involving a complexity of meanings regarding the surroundings, the apparatus and the process. 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