You want to know why I cut? Reflections on doing research with people who self-injure
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You want to know why I cut? Reflections on doing research with people who self‑injure Theresa McShane1
© Springer Nature Limited 2020
Abstract At the core of understanding why people do what they do, they should be posited as authorities on their own behaviour. When a behaviour is sensitive or stigmatised, it can be challenging to facilitate an environment in which their perceptions can be invited, obtained and accurately represented. Drawing upon the qualitative research study presented in the book, Blades, blood and bandages: the experiences of people who self-injure (McShane 2012), on the experiences of 25 people who selfinjure, the author offers some methodological reflections relevant to the processes of researching sensitive topics from first-person perspectives. In particular, the paper focuses on challenges highlighted in the course of the research related to recruitment of participants; conducting interviews on sensitive topic matter; motivating factors cited by those who took part; and managing negative effects on both participant and researcher. Keywords Self-injury · Qualitative · Recruitment · Interview techniques · Sensitive topics · Stigma · Motivation
Introduction This paper is a narrative of reflections on some of the issues that arose in my experience of doing research with people who cut, burn or otherwise injure themselves. It details some of the challenges and barriers encountered in investigating a sensitive and stigmatised topic and where attempts were made to overcome or minimise obstacles in order to facilitate the cultivation of rich, deep and in-depth data reflecting first-person experiences of people who self-injure. Interest in social issues that provoke negative emotional responses has been growing for some considerable time (Farberow 1963). There are many definitions of what constitutes sensitivity in research. Sieber and Stanley (1988, p. 49) describe * Theresa McShane [email protected] 1
The School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, UK Vol.:(0123456789)
T. McShane
‘socially sensitive’ research as ‘studies in which there are potential consequences or implications, either directly for the participants in the research or for the class of individuals represented by the research’. In theory, this broad description could be applied to most social research as all research has the potential for negative consequences for participants, some more harmful than others. More unambiguously, topics ‘may be defined as “sensitive” if they are private, stressful or sacred, and discussion tends to generate an emotional response… [They can refer to] phenomena that deal with potential fear of stigmatisation’ (McCosker et al. 2001, p. 1). Death and dying, sexuality, homelessness, HIV/AIDS and cancer (Dickson-Swift et al. 2008) are some examples of areas of research often categorised as sensitive. Self-injury is a highly sensitive topic and the greater the sensitivity or taboo surrounding a phenomenon such as this, the greater the necessity it is investigated. One t
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