Table 3.
Study of objects.
| Participants | Object reminding them of the act | Meaning attributed to the object | Related themes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Girl 1 | Food Systematically performs NSSI after bulimic episode | Hatred of food, hatred of self. | Inner combat Symbolized by her relation with food. |
| Girl 2 | No object | Said she had “no idea”, “did not know what to bring.” | The body, which makes it possible toregain control of the emotions Difficulties in representing the act to herself. |
| Girl 3 | Song: “Somewhere only we know” performed by Keane Listened to it regularly when she cut herself | Song chosen with her boyfriend to remind each of the other. | Search for the other's reaction Act used as a language. |
| Girl 4 | Tweezers First object used to cut herself | Object within easy reach, not causing severe cuts. | The action as a moment alonewith oneself Moment of privacy/intimacy. |
| Girl 5 | Two songs: “Skin” by Sixx: A.M., “Scars”by Papa Roach and a poem by Baudelaire “L'héautontimorouménos” (“The Self-Tormentor”) Recalling the previous period of distress and self-cutting | Search for the meaning of her pain and her need to hurt herself through the lyrics of these songs and this poem. | NSSI that isolates and connects Experience of not belonging and search for a group capable of understanding her message. |
| Girl 6 | Three texts she wrote herself In moments of distress, often after self-injury | Texts in which she talks of her vulnerability, of her relationships with others, often undermined by her distress. | The act as a test of the separation processin adolescence Process of separation and interdependence. |
| Girl 7 | Free verse she wrote herself After a moment of cutting | Text written to raise questions about the relation between her body and her distress. | Limits of the body and limits of the self Teach her body to suffer less. |
| Girl 8 | “My arm” “I don't need an object, (…) it's my arm, my object…” | The scars of self-cutting as symbols. | The body that enables the feelingof existence Writes her distress in her flesh. |
| Girl 9 | Razor blades and medication | Did not use razor blades to cut herself but she brings one as an object reminding her of cutting and not of her cutting. | NSSI that isolates and connects Affiliation creating a “cultural” belonging. |
| Girl 10 | Bracelet given to her by her cousin livingin the West Indies | The bracelet represents her self-injurious acts and at the same time a comforting object reminding her of her family in a faraway country. | Inner combat The object symbolizes the double valence of the act. |
| Girl 11 | No object | She can't explain why she did not choose an object. | |
| Girl 12 | A white sheet of paper with ink on it, but no words | Association with the fact that a sheet of paper can cut and that ink calls blood to mind. Could not explain this very figurative representation. | The body, which makes it possible toregain control of the emotions Words are not used to “fill in” this white sheet but the ink is deposited, without form. |
| Girl 13 | Scissors, her grandfather's pill box, places where she's thought of suicide attempts | Object used for her first cutting.Recollections where she thought of suicide/suicidal plans. | Acting, alone on stage Acts revisited as scenes with precise memories of the objects and places associated with them. |
| Girl 14 | Two songs: “Breathe me” by Sia and “Ta meilleure amie” (Your best friend) byOrnella Tempesta | Recognizes herself in the words of these songs which have in common asking another for help. | The act: sending a message She chose these songs for another to receive, although she denied in the interview the existence of a message behind her NSSI behavior. |
| Girl 15 | No object | Did not succeed in finding a metaphor for her acts, but explained that they were necessarily associated with very specific memories, which she was unable to say more about. | |
| Girl 16 | No object | Cannot explain why she did not choose an object. | |
| Girl 17 | No object | Cannot explain why she did not choose an object. | |
| Girl 18 | No object | Cannot explain why she did not choose an object. |
The table summarizes the girls' responses to the instruction to bring an object associated with their act to consider in light of the themes obtained from the analysis of the interviews.