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Self‐burning versus self‐cutting: Patterns and implications of self‐mutilation; a preliminary study of differences between self‐cutting and self‐burning in a Japanese juvenile detention center

Abstract  The purpose of the present paper was to examine the differences in clinical features between self‐cutters and  self‐burners,  to  clarify  clinical  implications  of  self‐mutilating  behaviors  other than self‐cutting. Subjects were 201 delinquent adolescents consecutively entering a Japanese juvenile detention center from February 2003 to March 2003. The subjects were assessed using a self‐reporting questionnaire to evaluate self‐mutilation, traumatic events, and problematic behaviors. Beck Depression Inventory‐2 (BDI‐2) and Adolescent Dissociative Experience Scale (A‐DES) were also tested. Subjects were classified into four groups according to self‐mutilating behaviors: non‐self‐cutting or ‐burning (NSCB), self‐cutting (SC), self‐burning (SB), and self‐cutting and self‐burning (SCB). The questionnaire answers and scores of the BDI‐2 and A‐DES were compared between the four groups. Of 201 subjects, 33 (16.4%) had cut their wrists or forearms at least once, and 72 of 201 (35.8%) had burned themselves at least once. The SC and SCB group had traumatic events, problematic behavior, and various types of self‐mutilating behavior more frequently than the other two groups. The SCB group reported additional types of self‐mutilating behavior more than the SC group. The SCB group also experienced multiple body customizations compared to the SC group, and exhibited higher scores on the BDI‐2 and A‐DES than the other three groups. The self‐burning without self‐cutting may have limited clinical implications. However, the self‐burning with self‐cutting may suggest depression and dissociation, as well as possible indication of self‐mutilating behavior.