title: Differentiating incest survivors who self-mutilate.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study was an exploratory analysis of the variables which differentiated incest survivors who self-mutilate from those who do not.
  
  
  METHODS
  A sample of women incest survivors (N = 84) were divided into two groups based on the presence or absence of self-mutilation. Participants included both community and clinical populations. A packet consisting of a demographic questionnaire, Sexual Attitudes Survey, Diagnostic Inventory of Personality and Symptoms, Dissociative Events Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory was completed by each participant.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Demographic, incest, and family of origin variables distinguished the self-mutilating women from those who did not. These include ethnicity and educational experiences; duration, frequency, and perpetrator characteristics regarding the incest; and multiple abuses, instability, birth order, and loss of mother in one's family of origin. Psychological and physical health concerns also differentiated between the two groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Many variables may differentiate between women incest survivors who self-mutilate from those who do not. A rudimentary checklist to describe the lives of incest survivors who self-mutilate resulted from these findings. The importance of the concept of embodiment is also discussed.
authors.affiliation: University of Houston-Clear Lake, TX 77058, USA.
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Turell
authors.forename: M W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Armsworth
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004213:Dissociative Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007179:Incest / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology*