CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Saurabh Nagpal, a student of Class XII of

Kulachi Hansraj Model School, Ashok Vihar, has successfully
completed the Psychology Case Profile under the guidance of
Ms. Samdisha Alagh (School Psychology Teacher) during the
year 2017-2018 in partial fulfilment of Psychology practical
examination conducted by Central Board of Secondary
Education (CBSE).

Sign of the teacher Sign of the external examiner

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It gives me pleasure to express my gratitude towards my

psychology teacher, Ms Samdisha Alagh, for her guidance,
support, encouragement throughout the duration of this case
profile, without which its successful completion wouldn’t
have been possible.
I would like to thank my subject and her friend for sharing
and providing me with all the necessary information and
their precious time.
I am grateful to all those people who supported me and
helped me gather information and important documents for
the sake of this case profile.
Lastly, I would thank CBSE for giving me this golden
opportunity to increase my knowledge of the subject of
Psychology.

SAURABH NAGPAL
INDEX

AIM:
To have a better understanding of the subject as an individual.

SOME IMPORTANT METHODS IN PSYCHOLOGY

Observation Method
Experimental Method
Correlational Research
Survey Method
Psychological Testing
Case Study

1. OBSERVATIONAL METHOD
a) Selection: Psychologists do not observe all behaviour that they encounter
but select a particular behaviour for observation.
b) Recording: While observing, a researcher records the selected behaviour
(marking tallies, taking notes or using symbols, photographs, video recording,
etc.)
c) Analysis of Data: to derive some meaning out of it

A good observer knows 1) what s/he is looking for, 2) whom s/he wants to
observe, 3) when and where the observation needs to be made, 4) in what
form the observation will be recorded, and 5) what methods will be used to
analyse the observed behaviour.

Types of Observation
a) Naturalistic vs Controlled Observation
b) Non-Participant vs Participant Observation

Naturalistic vs Controlled Observation

NATURALISTIC: When observations are done in a natural ordeal-life settings
(hospitals, homes, schools etc.) The observer makes no effort to control or
manipulate the situation for making an observation.

CONTROLLED: When you control certain factors that determine behaviour as

they are not the focus of your study. This type of observation is usually done in
a laboratory. E.g.: Smoke could only be introduced in a controlled laboratory
experiment (Bibb Latane and John Darley conducted a study in 1970)

Non-Participant vs Participant Observation

NON-PARTICIPANT: In this type of observation the person or event is observed

from a distance. Example: installing a video camera to observe.

PARTICIPANT: In this type of observation the observer becomes a part of the

group being observed. This may bring a change in the behaviour of students
and the teacher being observed. The observer should take some time to
establish a rapport with the group.

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Observational Method

Advantage: Enables the researcher to study people and their behaviour in a

naturalistic situation

Disadvantages: Labour intensive, Time consuming, and is susceptible to the

observer's bias
Also influenced by our values and beliefs about the person or the event
"We see things as we are and not as things are"

2. EXPERIMENTAL METHOD
- cause-effect relationship between two sets of events or variables in a controlled setting
- carefully regulated 
- changes are made in one factor and its effect is studied on another factor

CAUSE: event being changed or manipulated 

EFFECT: behaviour that changes because of the manipulation

The Concept of Variable

VARIABLE: Any stimulus or event which varies, that is, it takes on different
values (or changes) and can be measured. An object by itself is not a variable.
Attributes of a variable are: variation can be in the quality or quantity

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE (Cause): The variable which is manipulated or altered

or its strength varied by the researcher in the experiment

DEPENDENT VARIABLE (Effect): These are the variables on which the effect of
independent variable is observed. It represents the phenomenon the
researcher desires to explain.

INDEPENDENT AND DEPENDENT VARIABLES ARE INTERDEPENDENT:

Any behavioural event contains many variables (other relevant or extraneous
variables need to be controlled)

Experimental and Control Groups

An experimental group is the group that receives an experimental procedure

or a test sample.
This group is exposed to changes in the independent variable being tested. The
values of the independent variable and the result on the dependent variable
are recorded. An experiment may include multiple experimental groups at one
time.

A control group is a group separated from the rest of the experiment such that
the independent variable being tested cannot influence the results. This
isolates the independent variable's effects on the experiment and can help rule
out alternate explanations of the experimental results.

Some conditions have to be kept constant for both the groups (eg: speed with
which smoke started entering the rooms, the total amount of smoke in the
rooms etc.)

CONTROL TECHNIQUES

1) Eliminate extraneous variables (sound-proof and air-conditioned room to

eliminate the effect of noise and temp.)
2) Extraneous variables should be held constant 
3) Matching - for controlling orgasmic (fear, motivation) and background
variables (rural/urban, caste). In matching the relevant variables in the two
groups are equated or are held constant by taking matched pairs across
Conditions of the experiment.
4) Counter-balancing: To minimize the sequence effect. This includes
interchanging the order of the tasks
5) Random assignment of participants to diff. groups

LIMITATIONS OF THE LABORATORY EXPERIMENT

● The artificiality of the setting may produce unnatural behaviour that

does not reflect real life, i.e. low external validity. This means it would
not be possible to generalize the findings to a real life setting.
● Demand characteristics or experimenter effects may bias the results and
become confounding variables.
● Because the situations are very controlled and do not often represent
real life, the reactions of the test subjects may not be true indicators of
their behaviours in a non-experimental environment.
● It may not be really possible to control all extraneous variables. The
health, mood, and life experiences of the test subjects may influence
their reactions and those variables may not even be known to the
researcher.
● Lack of true zero point in psychology also becomes a problem in
psychological experiments.
● It is not always feasible to study a particular problem experimentally.

Field Experiments and Quasi Experiments

Field experiments
They are conducted in a natural setting (e.g. at a sports event or on public
transport), as opposed to the artificial environment created in laboratory
experiments. Some variables cannot be controlled due to the unpredictability
of these real-life settings (e.g. the public interacting with participants), but an
independent variable will still be altered for a dependent variable to be
measured against.

Advantages

Field experiments generally yield results with higher ecological validity than
laboratory experiments, as the natural settings will relate to real life.
Demand characteristics are less of an issue with field experiments than
laboratory experiments (i.e. participants are less likely to adjust their natural
behaviour according to their interpretation of the study’s purpose, as they
might not know they are in a study).

Limitations

Extraneous variables could confound results due to the reduced control

experimenters have over them in non-artificial environments
Precise replication of the natural environment of field experiments is
understandably difficult, so they have poor reliability

QUASI-EXPERIMENT

Quasi-experiments contain a naturally occurring Independent Variable (IV).

However, in a quasi-experiment the naturally occurring IV is a difference
between people that already exists. The researcher examines the effect of this
variable on the dependent variable (DV).
This is one type of experimental design that is very similar to the True
Experimental Design with one key difference. For an experimental design to be
classified as a True Experimental Design, it must meet two criteria; 1) random
assignment of participants to groups, and 2) manipulation of an internal
variable (IV). A Quasi- Experimental Design is exactly the same EXCEPT that
there is no random assignment of participants to groups. That is the only
difference between the two types of designs, but it is a very important
difference.

3. CORRELATIONAL RESEARCH

Correlations
Correlations simply describe the relationship between two variables in
statistical terms, but it is not a research method in itself. Data collected from
various research methods such as observations, questionnaires, and
experiments can be analysed to see if there is a relationship between two
variables. An example of a correlation is the relationship between hours spent
revising for an exam and the grade attained.
Covariables
Unlike experiments which have an independent variable and a dependent
variable, correlations are described in terms of covariables. This is because
both variables in a correlation vary (change) and are measured, and neither
one is set or controlled by the researcher.

Positive and negative correlations

Correlations can be positive or negative. A positive correlation describes a
relationship in which both variables increase together. A negative correlation
describes a relationship in which one variable increases as the other decreases.
For example, the relationship between hours spent revising for an exam and
the grade attained is a positive correlation. This is because as hours spent
revising increase, then the result attained also increases.

Correlation coefficients
The strength of a correlation is described as a correlation coefficient.
Coefficients range from -1.0 to +1.0, with a coefficient of less than zero
describing a negative correlation and a coefficient above zero describing a
positive correlation.

Strengths
1. Quick and easy. Correlations are a quick and easy way to see whether or
not there is a relationship between two variables that is worth exploring
further.

2. Describes the strength of a relationship. A correlation coefficient is a

simple and objective way to describe the strength of a relationship
between two variables. Expressing it as a precise number makes it clear
and easy to understand.

Weakness
1. Correlations do not equal causation. This means that it is impossible to
claim that one covariable actually causes the other covariable, as it could
be that a third unknown variable (a mediating variable) is causing both
variables to change together.
 2. Correlations can be misused. As finding a correlation between two
variables tells us very little other than that a relationship exists, it is very
difficult to make accurate conclusions about the causes of the
relationship.

4. SURVEY RESEARCH
A survey is a method for collecting information or data as reported by
individuals. This is a type of data collection known as self-report data, which
means that individuals complete the survey (or provide the information)
themselves.

In survey research, the instruments that are utilized can be either a

questionnaire or an interview (either structured or unstructured).

1. Questionnaires
Typically, a questionnaire is a paper-and-pencil instrument that is administered
to the respondents. The usual questions found in questionnaires are closed-
ended questions, which are followed by response options. However, there are
questionnaires that ask open-ended questions to explore the answers of the
respondents.

Questionnaires have been developed over the years. Today, questionnaires are
utilized in various survey methods, according to how they are given. These
methods include the self-administered, the group-administered, and the
household drop-off. Among the three, the self-administered survey method is
often used by researchers nowadays. However, since the response rates
related to mail surveys had gone low, questionnaires are now commonly
administered online, as in the form of web surveys.

Advantages: Ideal for asking closed-ended questions; effective for market or

consumer research

Disadvantages: Limit the researcher’s understanding of the respondent’s

answers; requires budget for reproduction of survey questionnaires
2. Interviews
Between the two broad types of surveys, interviews are more personal and
probing. Questionnaires do not provide the freedom to ask follow-up
questions to explore the answers of the respondents, but interviews do.

An interview includes two persons - the researcher as the interviewer, and the
respondent as the interviewee. There are several survey methods that utilize
interviews. These are the personal or face-to-face interview, the phone
interview, and more recently, the online interview.

Advantages: Follow-up questions can be asked; provide better understanding

of the answers of the respondents
Disadvantages: Time-consuming; many target respondents have no public-
listed phone numbers or no telephones at all

5. PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING
Psychological testing refers to the administration of psychological tests. A
psychological test is "an objective and standardized measure of a sample of
behaviour”. The term sample of behaviour refers to an individual's
performance on tasks that have usually been prescribed beforehand. The
samples of behaviour that make up a paper-and-pencil test, the most common
type of test, are a series of items. Performance on these items produces a test
score. A score on a well-constructed test is believed to reflect a psychological
construct such as achievement in a school subject, cognitive ability, aptitude,
emotional functioning, personality, etc. Differences in test scores are thought
to reflect individual differences in the construct the test is supposed to
measure. The technical term for the science behind psychological testing is
psychometrics.
They are often used for personnel selection, placement, training, guidance,
diagnosis etc. (educational institutions, guidance clinics, industries etc.).
The characteristic that is to be assessed should be defined clearly and
unambiguously (all items should relate to that)
These tests are often meant for a particular age group and may have a fixed
time limit.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A TEST
Standardised and Objective: If two or more researchers administer a test on
the same group of people, they would come up with the same result

Reliability: Consistency of scores

Ways to assess reliability of tests:
1) Test-Retest (indicates temporal stability)
2) Split-half (degree of internal consistency)

Validity: Test validity is the extent to which a test (such as a chemical, physical,
or scholastic test) accurately measures what it is supposed to measure.

Norms: Normal or average performance of the group (based on age, sex etc.)
They help in comparing performance and interpreting individuals' score
obtained on a test

TYPES OF TESTS

Language, mode of administration and difficulty level

Language:
In Verbal tests literacy is required, In Non-verbal: symbols or pictures are used,
In Performance Tests movements of objects from their respective places in a
particular order is used

Mode of administration:
Individual tests can be administered to only one person at a time, face to face,
and they are very time consuming but they are important for getting reposes
from children, and those who do not know the language
Group tests can be administered to a large number of persons at the same
time, instructions are written on the test, these tests are easy to administer,
less time consuming ,

Difficulty Level:
Speed tests: In these tests there is a time limit, people are evaluated on the
basis of time taken to complete but all items have the same degree of
difficulty.
Power tests: These assess the underlying ability of an individual by providing
sufficient time. Items are arranged in increasing order of difficulty. 
MAJORITY OF TESTS ARE A COMBINATION OF BOTH

6. CASE STUDY
Case studies are in-depth investigations of a single person, group, event or
community. Typically, data are gathered from a variety of sources and by using
several different methods (e.g. observations & interviews). The research may
also continue for an extended period of time, so processes and developments
can be studied as they happen.
The case study research method originated in clinical medicine (the case
history, i.e. the patient’s personal history).

The case study method often involves simply observing what happens to, or
reconstructing ‘the case history’ of a single participant or group of individuals.
Case studies allow a researcher to investigate a topic in far more detail than
might be possible if they were trying to deal with a large number of research
participants with the aim of ‘averaging’.

The case study is not itself a research method, but researchers select methods
of data collection and analysis that will generate material suitable for case
studies. Amongst the sources of data the psychologist is likely to turn to when
carrying out a case study are observations of a person’s daily routine,
unstructured interviews with the participant herself (and with people who
know her), diaries, personal notes (e.g. letters, photographs, notes) or official
document (e.g. case notes, clinical notes, appraisal reports). Most of this
information is likely to be qualitative (i.e. verbal description rather than
measurement) but the psychologist might collect numerical data as well.

Case studies are widely used in psychology and amongst the best known were
the ones carried out by Sigmund Freud. He conducted very detailed
investigations into the private lives of his patients in an attempt to both
understand and help them overcome their illnesses.

In psychology, case studies are often confined to the study of a particular

individual. The information is mainly biographical and relates to events in the
individual's past (i.e. retrospective), as well as to significant events which are
currently occurring in his or her everyday life.

In order to produce a fairly detailed and comprehensive profile of the person,

the psychologist may use various types of accessible data, such as medical
records, employer's reports, school reports or psychological test results. The
interview is also an extremely effective procedure for obtaining information
about an individual, and it may be used to collect comments from the person's
friends, parents, employer, work mates and others who have a good
knowledge of the person, as well as to obtain facts from the person him or
herself.

The procedure used in a case study means that the researcher provides a
description of the behaviour. This comes from interviews and other sources,
such as observation. The client also reports detail of events from his or her
point of view. The researcher then writes up the information from both
sources above as the case study, and interprets the information.

Interpreting the information means the researcher decides what to include or

leave out. A good case study should always make clear which information is
factual description and which is an inference or the opinion of the researcher.

Strengths of Case Studies

1. Provides detailed (rich qualitative) information.

2. Provides insight for further research.
3. Permitting investigation of otherwise impractical (or unethical)
situations.
4. Valuable research tool in clinical psychology and human development

Limitations of Case Studies

1. Can’t generalize the results to the wider population.
2. Researchers' own subjective feeling may influence the case study
(researcher bias).
3. Difficult to replicate.
4. Time consuming.

THE PROBLEM
My case study/profile focuses on the problem of self-harm also known as self-
injury, is defined as the intentional, direct injuring of body tissue, done without
suicidal intentions. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
(DSM-5) refers to it as self-mutilation. Self-injury involves using a sharp object
to cut one’s own skin. It includes a wide range of behaviours like burning,
sketching, banging or hitting body parts , interfering with wound healing, hair
puling and the ingestion of toxic substances or objects.

Overview
Nonsuicidal self-injury, often simply called self-injury, is the act of deliberately
harming the surface of your own body, such as cutting or burning yourself. It's
typically not meant as a suicide attempt. Rather, this type of self-injury is an
unhealthy way to cope with emotional pain, intense anger and frustration.

While self-injury may bring a momentary sense of calm and a release of

tension, it's usually followed by guilt and shame and the return of painful
emotions. Although life-threatening injuries are usually not intended, with self-
injury comes the possibility of more serious and even fatal self-aggressive
actions.

Getting appropriate treatment can help you learn healthier ways to cope.

Symptoms
Signs and symptoms of self-injury may include:

● Scars
● Fresh cuts, scratches, bruises or other wounds
● Excessive rubbing of an area to create a burn
● Keeping sharp objects on hand
● Wearing long sleeves or long pants, even in hot weather
● Difficulties in interpersonal relationships
● Persistent questions about personal identity, such as "Who am I?" "What
am I doing here?"
● Behavioural and emotional instability, impulsivity and unpredictability
● Statements of helplessness, hopelessness or worthlessness

Causes

Mental disorder
Although some people who self-harm do not have any form of recognised
mental disorder, many people experiencing various forms of mental illnesses
do have a higher risk of self-harm. The key areas of disorder which exhibit an
increased risk include autism spectrum disorders, borderline personality
disorder, disorder, depression, phobias, and conduct disorders. Schizophrenia
may also be a contributing factor for self-harm. Those diagnosed with
schizophrenia have a high risk of suicide, which is particularly greater in
younger patients as they may not have an insight into the serious effects that
the disorder can have on their lives. Substance abuse is also considered a risk
factor as are some personal characteristics such as poor problem-solving skills
and impulsivity. There are parallels between self-harm and Münchausen
syndrome, a psychiatric disorder in which individuals feign illness or
trauma. There may be a common ground of inner distress culminating in self-
directed harm in a Münchausen patient. However, a desire to deceive medical
personnel in order to gain treatment and attention is more important in
Münchausen's than in self-harm.

Psychological factors
Abuse during childhood is accepted as a primary social factor increasing the
incidence of self-harm, as is troubled parental or partner relationships. Factors
such as war, poverty, and unemployment may also contribute. Self-harm is
frequently described as an experience of depersonalisation or a dissociative
state. As many as 70% of individuals with borderline personality
disorder engage in self-harm. An estimated 30% of individuals with autism
spectrum disorders engage in self-harm at some point, including eye-
poking, skin-picking, hand-biting, and head-banging.

Genetics
Genetics may contribute to the risk of developing other psychological
conditions, such as anxiety or depression, which could in turn lead to self-
harming behaviour. However, the link between genetics and self-harm in
otherwise healthy patients is largely inconclusive.[4]
Drugs and alcohol
Alcohol is a major risk factor for self-harm.[32] A study which analysed self-harm
presentations to emergency rooms in Northern Ireland found that alcohol was
a major contributing factor and involved in 63.8% of self-harm presentations.
[51]
 A recent study in the relation between cannabis use and deliberate self-
harm (DSH) in Norway and England found that, in general, cannabis use may
not be a specific risk factor for DSH in young adolescents.[52]
OTHER CAUSES

● Nonsuicidal self-injury is usually the result of an inability to cope in healthy

ways with psychological pain.
● The person has a hard time regulating, expressing or understanding
emotions. The mix of emotions that triggers self-injury is complex. For
instance, there may be feelings of worthlessness, loneliness, panic, anger,
guilt, rejection, self-hatred or confused sexuality.
Risk factors
Certain factors may increase the risk of self-injury, including:

● Age. Most people who self-injure are teenagers and young adults,

although those in other age groups also self-injure. Self-injury often starts
in the early teen years, when emotions are more volatile and teens face
increasing peer pressure, loneliness, and conflicts with parents or other
authority figures.
● Having friends who self-injure. People who have friends who intentionally
harm themselves are more likely to begin self-injuring.
● Life issues. Some people who injure themselves were neglected or abused
(sexually, physically or emotionally) or experienced other traumatic events.
They may have grown up and still remain in an unstable family
environment, or they may be young people questioning their personal
identity or sexuality. Some people who self-injure are socially isolated.
● Mental health issues. People who self-injure are more likely to be highly
self-critical and be poor problem-solvers. In addition, self-injury is
commonly associated with certain mental disorders, such as borderline
personality disorder, depression, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress
disorder and eating disorders.
● Excessive alcohol or drug use. People who harm themselves often do so
while under the influence of alcohol or recreational drugs.

Complications
Self-injury can cause a variety of complications, including:
 ● Worsening feelings of shame, guilt and low self-esteem
● Infection, either from wounds or from sharing tools
● Permanent scars or disfigurement
● Severe, possibly fatal injury
● Worsening of underlying issues and disorders, if not adequately treated

Suicide risk

Although self-injury is not usually a suicide attempt, it can increase the risk of
suicide because of the emotional problems that trigger self-injury. And the
pattern of damaging the body in times of distress can make suicide more likely.

Prevention
There is no sure way to prevent your loved one's self-injuring behaviour. But
reducing the risk of self-injury includes strategies that involve both individuals
and communities — for example, parents, schools, medical professionals,
supervisors, co-workers and coaches.

● Identify people most at risk and offer help. For instance, those at risk can
be taught resilience and healthy coping skills that they can then draw on
during periods of distress.
● Encourage expansion of social networks. Many people who self-injure feel
lonely and disconnected. Forming connections to people who don't self-
injure can improve relationship and communication skills.
● Raise awareness. Adults, especially those who work with children, should
be educated about the warning signs of self-injury and what to do when
they suspect it. Documentaries, multimedia-based educational programs
and group discussions are helpful strategies.
● Promote programs that encourage peers to seek help. Peers tend to be
loyal to friends even when they know a friend is in crisis. Programs that
encourage youths to reach out to adults may chip away at social norms
that support secrecy.
● Offer education about media influence. News media, music and other
highly visible outlets that feature self-injury may nudge vulnerable children
 and young adults to experiment. Teaching children critical thinking skills
about the influences around them might reduce the harmful impact.
PREVALENCE OF SELF HARM IN INDIA AND REST OF
THE WORLD
INDIA

Self-harm is the top reason for adolescent or youth deaths in India causing
over 60000 deaths annually in the age group of 15-24 years, a latest global
study shows. It is also the biggest reason for disabilities in youth. The first
population-based study on self-harm has shown that almost one in 12 people
inflicted self-harm as adolescents with more girls being involved in such acts. It
is especially common 15-24 year old women, a group in which rates of serious
self-harm seems to be rising. Also adolescents who experienced depression or
anxiety were around 6 times more likely to self-harm in early adulthood than
adolescents without anxiety or depression.

WORLDWIDE

It is almost impossible to say how many young people are into self-harm. This
is because a very few teenagers tell anyone what’s going on, so it’s an
incredibly difficult job to keep records and have an accurate idea of the scale. It
is thought that around 13% of young people try to hurt themselves on purpose
at some point btw the ages of 11 and 16 but actual figure could be much
higher.

In 2014, figures were published suggesting a 70% increase in 10-14 year olds
attending A&E (Accident and Emergency Centre for Self-harm patients) has
preceded over the two years. Girls are more likely to self-harm than boys
because boys are more likely to engage in wall punching which aren’t
recognised as self-harm.

The most recent causes of death publication from the Australian Bureau of
Statistics (ABS) indicates that in 2012, suicide was leading contribution to the
burden of disease in both males and females. It is estimated that 21% of lives
cost “due to premature death among youth was due to suicide and self-
inflicted injury. In addition, non-fatal suicidal behaviours and self-harm are
associated with substantial disability and loss of years of healthy life.

A NEW LOOK AT SELF-INJURY

Self-injury is a well-recognized clinical phenomenon, but its causes — and
therefore its cures — have been somewhat elusive. Two clinical researchers
have compelling and complementary views on why people engage in this
harmful behaviour- Joseph Franklin (PhD a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of
suicide research) and Psychologist Matthew Nock (PhD).

What makes young people cut, scratch, carve or burn their skin, hit or punch
themselves, or even bang their heads against a wall?

For years, psychologists theorized that such self-harming behaviours helped to

regulate these sufferers' negative emotions. If a person is feeling bad, angry,
upset, anxious or depressed and lacks a better way to express it, self-injury
may fill that role.
Franklin started his investigation with one of the central questions in the field:
Why would people report feeling better after hurting themselves?
In a 2010 study in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Franklin and colleagues
used a task that self-injurers do in fact feel better afterward.

Franklin then turned to the pain literature to see if he could gain more
understanding. There, he discovered something described by psychologists 70
years ago: a phenomenon called pain offset relief. According to this concept,
virtually everyone experiences an unpleasant physical reaction to a painful
stimulus. Removing the stimulus does not return the individual to their pre-
stimulus state, however. Rather, it leads them into a short but intense state of
euphoria.
Using a technique called pain offset relief conditioning, those scientists also
found that if you paired the pain with a stimulus, over time, people would
react more favourably to the pain because they had learned to associate it
with pain relief. For example, when researchers shocked rats and then
presented them with a pleasant odour, over time, the rats began seeking out
the smell.

 Franklin continued to find powerful pain-offset relief effects in all of his

participants, self-injurers and controls alike. People who self-injure may
unwittingly be tapping into this mechanism, Franklin surmises. The first time
they hurt themselves, they experience unpleasant pain. But when they keep
doing it and experience pain relief, they begin to associate cutting or other
forms of self-injury with relief, and they return for more.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELF-INJURY AND

SUICIDAL BEHAVIOUR by the Journal of American
Board of Family Medicine
The relationship between self-injury and suicide is complex. There is evidence
that a strong correlation between suicidality and self-injury exists. Empirical
research indicates that as much as 40% of those who engage in self-injury have
thoughts about suicide while inflicting the injury, and approximately 50% to
85% of people who injure themselves have attempted suicide at least once
during their lifetime. Self-injurers who attempt suicide differ from their
nonsuicidal counterparts in that these individuals tend to have longer histories
of self-injury and tend to use more methods of self-injury. Recent research by
Whitlock and colleagues examining self-injury correlates in 2101 university
students indicates that as the severity of self-injury accelerates, the severity of
suicidality increases as well. A large proportion of those who self-injure do not
think of killing themselves while they engage in self-injury, nor do they intend
for the behaviour to result in death.

Empirical evidence suggests that there are a limited number of methods used
in suicide attempts and completed suicides. Self-inflicted gunshots, hanging,
overdose, self-poisoning, and jumping from lethal heights are attributed to
approximately 87% to 98.6% of the deaths that result from suicide, whereas
cutting accounts for only approximately 1.4% to 2% of these deaths.
Muehlenkamp and Gutierrez indicates that people who self-injure are more
likely to attempt suicide if they report being repulsed by life, are attracted to
death, report not being afraid of suicide or death, are highly or chronically self-
critical, exhibit apathy, or have tenuous family connections. Regarding this last
factor, some research has also found that parental criticism is a predictor of
both self-injury and suicide attempts as well as suicidal ideation.
CASE OF SELF-HARM
NAME: PRANAVI MAHAJAN

AGE: 17

SEX: FEMALE

CLASS: 12TH GRADE

SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS: MIDDLE CLASS

MOTHER’S EDUCATION: POST GRADUATION

MOTHER’S OCCUPATION: CORPORATE JOB (CA)

FATHER’S EDUCATION: POST GRADUATION

FATHER’S OCCUPATION: BUSINESSMEN

NUMBER OF FAMILY MEMBERS: THREE

ADJUSTMENT IN THE FAMILY: POOR

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:

● HEIGHT: 5’3”
● WEIGHT: 45kgs
● COMPLEXION: Dusky

MAJOR ILLNESS: LEUCODERMA

PSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS: Introvert, High IQ, Speaks very less

FAMILY MEMBERS:

1. MOTHER 3. PRANAVI
2. FATHER

REASON FOR CONSIDERATION

I was at my friend’s birthday party where I noticed a girl. She was a
friend of my friend and I had never met her before. Since I am a keen
observer, I could make out from her behaviour that she was not an
extrovert. She spoke very less and kept to her seat. She didn’t try to
communicate with anyone she didn’t know. I tried to start a
conversation with her but we could only exchange names. One thing
I did find out was that she had some marks on her wrists. This
shocked me and I became curious to know that why did she had
those marks.

After the party, I enquired about her from my friend. She said that
she didn’t know much but she became her friend while travelling in
the school bus and that they weren’t the best of the friends.

So I tried to find out myself and added her on Instagram. I messaged

her and we gradually started talking. After some months of our
friendship she told me that those marks were a result of self-harm
that she did some while back. She also told me that she had
Leucoderma.

I could understand that she had stopped doing self-harm by judging

the way she talked with me. I was really inspired by her because she
faced some problems, indulged in some maladaptive behaviour but
she was able to pull herself out of the problem.

This was the major guiding force behind me wanting to know more
about her. I wanted to learn more about her journey.

OBSERVATION REPORTS
I used observation method as a tool to understand my subject’s behaviour in
natural surroundings. I observed her in:
School

Colony

Home

SCHOOL
She maintained a quite mysterious attitude in which she kept to herself and
didn’t communicate with people much. One weird thing I noticed was that she
wore full sleeved shirts to school even in summer. She only spoke to two of her
friends. She used to cry at the slightest of matters and had trouble in
concentrating while she was in the class.

COLONY
In her colony, she used to go for frequent walks alone at night time and if she
saw people in park she would go back home. She seemed to be always
avoiding people and was clearly awkward while conversing with people who
used to greet her. She seemed to want to end the conversation as early as
possible. A noticeable thing in her colony was her interaction with dogs. Her
behaviour around the dogs brought out her actual loving nature.

HOME
My subject at home showed hyper and aloof behaviour. She usually kept to
herself and her room except for lunch and dinner time and this was the only
time she spent with her parents. She engaged in book reading and watched
action movies in her pass time. She took at least 2-3 naps a day. Her parents
constantly told her to remain calm and be a less aggressive. Her parents told
me that she started showing unusual behaviour around 3 years ago. She got
easily agitated and snubbed them and cried a lot for petty things. They also
told me that her academic performance had declined over these years.
INTERVIEW QUESTIONNAIRES OF THE:
1. My Subject
2. Subject’s Close Friend

THE SUBJECT
Q1. How old were you when you started self-harming yourself?

Ans – I was 14 years old when I started to do it. It gave me a feeling of

relaxation and numbness.

Q2. What methods did you use to self-harm yourself?

Ans- I usually cut my palm and thighs using a pin or blade.

Q3. Do you still feel the need to self-harm?

Ans- I have made myself stronger but now when some thoughts of mine try to
trigger such behaviour in me I try to distract myself.

Q4. How did self-harm make you feel?

Ans- It was usually to distract myself from my miserable state. It made me feel
numb and good about myself. Even a short escape from my issues at that time
was a blessing.

Q5. Why did you start self-harming?

Ans- I was coming to terms with a few things that I had recently experienced
and I am not comfortable talking about it. I would like to avoid this topic as
much as possible.

Q6. How did the few things that you experienced make you feel? Please
elaborate on how you felt and not on the experience?

Ans- I had very long stretches where I felt extremely sad and I also had trouble
sleeping. I was turning into an insomniac. For the first year I felt extremely
detached from everyone and everything around me. It was really difficult from
the beginning to understand what I was going through. This slowly started to
develop into anxiety as I had intense panic attacks when I tried to remember
about the thing. I also had frequent nightmares and I still do at the age of 17.

Q7. Was self-harm an attempt to cope with the intense feeling of anxiety?

Ans- Yes, cutting myself at that time felt like something that could distract me
from my problems and lessen the turmoil that I was going through
emotionally.

Q8. Did self-harm make you feel any better?

Ans- For very short periods of time it did make me feel better and at peace, but
I was naive. It didn’t work in the long term and only made it worse. I already
have Leucoderma and the marks of the cuts made me feel ashamed as I had
marks on my body.

Q9. At present, how do you feel about your past actions? Do you regret doing
what you did?

Ans- I believe that I was very immature and couldn’t think of a better way to
deal with my anxiety. I deeply regret what I did and feel like there were better
ways to deal with my emotions.

Q10. If there was one thing you could say to your former self. What would it
be?

Ans- The one thing I would like to say to my former self is that “This is not the
solution and it gets better.”

SUBJECT’S CLOSE FRIEND

Q1. How long have known you known her?

Ans- I have known her since 5-6 years, since she moved into this colony.

Q2. What kind of a relationship do you share with you?

Ans- We are very close friends but I feel like there’s a lot I don’t know about
her.

Q3. Why do you feel that there are aspects you don’t know about her?
Ans- I feel so because I have seen cut marks on her arms but when I ask her
anything related to them, I get very blunt responses. Even now when she is
over that phase I know very less about them.

Q4. According to you what could have been her reason for self-harm?

Ans- I cannot say much about this. But of what I know the two major reasons
why she did this was due to her disease and family problems.

Q5. Was she comfortable in telling you those aspects about her past?

Ans- No, I had to pressurise her to open up to me because she doesn’t share
her problems easily. She is sort of an introvert.

Q6. Did her being an introvert cause differences between you two?

Ans- Yes, it did, because I wanted her to stop harming herself and take to a
positive path and she wouldn’t tell me anything and because of that I wasn’t
able to help her much.

Q7. Did you see any other behaviour that was an indicator except for the cuts?

Ans- Yes, for a year or two in between she interacted less with me, she walked
alone at night in the colony and she started staying irritable.

Q8. According to you the things that trigger such behaviour in her still exist?

Ans- Some anxiety provoking things exist in everyone’s life. But the major
aspects that triggered such behaviour in her don’t exist now, at least to my
knowledge.

Q9. What did you do when you got to know that she does self-harm?

Ans- She had already stopped doing it so there wasn’t much I could do but I
tried to ensure she doesn’t take to that path again. I tried to start a
conversation with her as much as possible and never left her alone for a few
days after I got to know.

Q10. Do you think that she is still capable of self-harming?

Ans- According to me she is stronger now and won’t take to that path.
INTERVIEW ANALYSIS
A. SUBJECT
B. SUBJECT’S CLOSE FRIEND

A. THE SUBJECT
My subject was not very easy to talk to as she was very emotional and didn’t
want to open up about her past experiences. She said self-harm distracted her
from her troubles and made her feel good about herself. This happened due to
endorphines (feel good hormones). Cutting herself made her numb which
provided her a short relief from her miseries. She didn’t elaborate much on
what made her do this as she was not comfortable talking about those ‘few
things’. She said that her problems made her into an insomniac, gave her
anxiety and she had frequent panic attacks and nightmares. At present she has
stopped harming herself as she has realised that she was very immature at
that time and couldn’t think of better ways to deal with her anxiety through
other ways as now she is regretful of what she did and is ashamed of her scars.
She has realised that “this wasn’t the solution and it gets better with time.’

B.SUBJECT’S CLOSE FRIEND

My interview with subject’s close friend helped me understand my subject’s
condition better. They have known each other for 6 years but claimed that she
didn’t know Pranavi very well. She said that she saw cut marks on her wrists
but when she asked anything about them she got only blunt replies. Of what
she knows about why Pranavi cutting herself were reasons like her disease
Leucoderma and her family issues. She didn’t elaborate about them. Even to
get this much information about Pranavi, she said that she had to pressurise
her. She also claimed that she was an introvert and didn’t share much about
her problems easily and that is why she wasn’t able to help her much in her
difficult time. She said that except for the cuts Pranavi also had other weird
behaviours like walking alone at night, minimised interaction and her irritable
nature. According to her the things that triggered her self-harm do not exist
now and Pranavi is a lot stronger now. She said when she got to know about
what Pranavi was doing to herself, by that time Pranavi had stopped doing it
but she took precautions by trying not to leave her alone and interacting with
her as much as possible.

SELF-CONCEPT QUESTIONNAIRE
RESULT TABLE
DIMENSION CODE NAME SCORE INTERPRETATION

Physical A 17 Average

Social B 19 Average

Temperamental C 21 Average

Educational D 18 Average

Moral E 29 Above Average

Intellectual F 21 Average

TOTAL 125 Average

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

The aim of the test was to assess the self-concept of the subject using self-
concept questionnaire.

The term self refers to the totality of an individual’s conscious expressions,

ideas, feelings and thoughts with regard to himself or herself. These ideas and
experiences define existence of individual both at individual and social level.
Self-concept has been defined by Lowe (1961) as one’s attitude towards self
and by Paderson (1965) as the organised configuration of the perceptions,
beliefs, feelings and values which the individual views as a part of
characteristics of himself or herself.

The self-concept inventory provides 6 separate dimensions of self-concept i.e.

physical, social, temperamental, educational, moral and intellectual.

The inventory contains 48 items. Each dimension contains 8 items. Each item is
provided with 5 alternatives and the subject has to select one of the five
options and s/he is scored accordingly.

My subject got an overall score of 125 which indicates an average self-

concept.

In dimension A, which measures physical self-concept my subject scored 17

which indicate average self-concept.

In dimension B, which measures social self-concept my subject scored 19

which indicate average self-concept.

In dimension C, which measures temperamental self-concept my subject

scored 21 which indicates average self-concept.

In dimension D, which measures educational self-concept my subject scored 28

which indicates average self-concept.

In dimension E, which measures moral self-concept my subject scored 29

which indicates above average self-concept.

In dimension F, which measures intellectual self-concept my subject scored 21

which indicates average self-concept.

My subject finished the subject quickly and was quite interested in it.

CONCLUSION
My subject’s total self-concept was 125. She has an average self-concept. All
her self-concept scores indicate an average self-concept except one (Moral) in
which she has above average self-concept. Her self-concept ranges from 17 in
physical dimension to 29 in the moral dimension.

SINHA’S COMPREHENSIVE ANXIETY TEST (SCAT)

RESULT TABLE
PAGES 2 3 4 TOTAL

RAW SCORES 18 12 19 49

ANAYLSIS AND INTERPRETATION

The aim of the test is to study the level of anxiety of an individual by
administering Sinha’s Comprehensive Anxiety Test (SCAT) developed by AK
Sinha.

Anxiety is usually defined as a diffuse, vague, very unpleasant feeling of fear

and apprehension.

According to American Psychological Association (APA): “Anxiety is an emotion

characterized by feeling of tension, worried thoughts and physical changes like
increased blood pressure.”

Anxious individuals show combinations of following symptoms: rapid heart

rate, loss of appetite, fainting, dizziness, sweating, sleeplessness, frequent
urination etc.

Major Anxiety Disorders include: Generalized Anxiety Disorder, which consists

of prolonged, vague, unexplained and intense fears that aren’t attached to any
particular object. Another type is Panic Disorder, which consists of recurrent
anxiety attacks in which the person experiences intense terror. Another type is
Phobia; in this people have irrational fears related to specific objects, people or
situations. Phobias can be further categorized into Specific Phobias, Social
Phobias and Agoraphobia. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder includes being pre-
occupied with certain thoughts and is unable to check the impulse to
repeatedly carry out certain acts like washing etc. Post-Traumatic Stress

Disorder includes recurrent dreams, flashbacks, impaired concentration and

emotional numbing followed by a traumatic life event.

My Subject, Pranavi Mahajan, obtained a raw score of 49 corresponding to a

percentile of 95 that lies under the category of Extremely High Anxiety. It
means that in a group of 100, 95 people fall fellow this category.

The individual may be classified into 5 categories on the basis of scores

obtained on the inventory. An individual with an extremely high score or above
the 75th percentile may be regarded as a hyper-anxiety individual.

Personality of a hyper-anxious individual is complicated and s/he may be in

need of counselling and psychotherapy. High levels of anxiety are distressing
and interfere with effective functioning and might indicate presence of an
anxiety disorder.

High Anxiety can lead to several physiological and psychological changes.

CONCLUISON
My subject’s raw score is 51 that corresponds to the percentile of 95 and
indicates that she lies under the category of Extremely High Anxiety.
 EMERGING PROFILE
My subject, Pranavi Mahajan, used to indulge in self-harm practices
due to certain reasons. However, she had stopped doing it when I
met her but still everything about her like her behaviour, way of
talking and scars on her wrist made me curious so I chose her as my
case subject. She did agree to be my subject but she didn’t reveal
everything to me. I used various methods to know about her
including observational method, interview method and psychological
testing. I observed her in school setting, in her home and in her
colony. She usually kept to herself, didn’t communicate much with
others and usually wore full sleeves shirts. I even interviewed her
and her closest friend. She used to get very anxious while answering
the questions and didn’t reveal everything. She even kept her friend
in dark for much time and didn’t tell her much. That’s why even her
friend couldn’t help Pranavi much in her difficult times. I gathered
some information from her parents as well but it was taken in a very
informal way. I also administered two tests on Pranavi- SCQ and
SCAT. I found out that she has average self-concept and is an
extremely anxious human being.

She didn’t go for psychological help but I found it really impressive

that she could pull her out of her troubles on her own. It was really
inspiring. But I did suggest her that if she ever get those thoughts or
feelings again, she should try to share it with at least her loved ones
and if the situation goes out of hand, she should also go for
psychological help. There is no shame in that. I even suggested her to
join yoga or seriously take up some of her hobby or interest to spend
her time more constructively. I also told her to accept her as she is
and it is not the physical appearance that matters but how we are
from underneath.

REFLECTION
I have been studying Psychology as a subject for two years now and I
find it really interesting. In Psychology a lot of things are to be done
practically. I had read about them theoretically but never got a
chance to perform them until this project of case study came up. This
journey of doing the case study was not only very fun but also a big
learning curve for me. I learned to interact with new people and this
enhanced my self-confidence and improved my social skills. This case
study made more empathetic, non-judgemental and I learnt to
respect and accept individual differences. Observing the subject in
various settings made me understand what all I need to note and
what all I should ignore thereby developing my observational skills.
Administering tests in case study was also a different experience
than administering tests in for practicals since this time around I had
to choose the relevant tests on my own. I also learnt how to deal
with the subject as I had to be careful and sensitive while asking
questions and using certain terms while accepting her in a non-
judgemental manner. Throughout the journey of the case study I was
guided by my teacher, Ms. Samdisha Alagh, and I am grateful to her
for that but she kept it a point that this guidance shouldn’t turn into
interference and all the learners should perform this study
independently. Thus this case study was one of the most exciting and
insightful project I ever did.

“Learning is experience. Everything else is just information.”

 -Albert Einstein

REFERENCES
Psychology Textbook Class XII

https://www.thoughtco.com/control-and-experimental-group-
differences-606113

https://explorable.com/types-of-survey

https://www.tutor2u.net/psychology/reference/field-experiments

https://www.alleydog.com/glossary/definition.php?
term=Quasi+Experimental+Design

http://www.psychteacher.co.uk/research-methods/correlations.html

https://cirt.gcu.edu/research/developmentresources/
research_ready/experimental/benefits_limits

https://www.simplypsychology.org/case-study.html

https://quizlet.com/47856721/methods-of-enquiry-in-psychology-
flash-cards/

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/self-injury/
symptoms-causes/syc-20350950

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-harm

http://www.jabfm.org/content/23/2/240.full#ref-5

http://www.apa.org/monitor/2015/07-08/self-injury.aspx