Page 483 - Štemberger Tina, Čotar Konrad Sonja, Rutar Sonja, Žakelj Amalija. Ur. 2022. Oblikovanje inovativnih učnih okolij. Koper: Založba Univerze na Primorskem
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The Approaches in Working with Self-Harmed Students
with each one for the interviews. The interviewees proposed the place and
time by themselves. One interview was held at the interviewee’s home, and
the other two in the park. We paid attention that there were no distractions
near us.
We manually wrote the data obtained by the qualitative analysis method.
We broke down the relative data of the written material in four sets of con-
tents. We wrote down the results of the interviews, about which we continu-
ally discussed.
Results and Discussion
We tried to find a balanced sample, which would contain the inclusion of
male persons, but we nevertheless did not succeed. The interviewees chose
their pseudonyms by themselves due to data protection. The excerpts from
their interviews are written under pseudonyms.
It was very difficult to get candidates for the interview. Self-harm is a very
intimate and delicate theme, which individuals prefer to retain for them-
selves. At the beginning of the interview, we felt discomfort due to commu-
nicating intimate moments to a complete stranger. We first made a contact
with Tara through an acquaintance. And Tara knew XX and Ema. Ema was
more taciturn. None of the three interviewees wanted to tell more than we
asked. All three of them told that they were very uncomfortable answering
the questions. Their answers were modest. With constant encouragement
and friendly conversation, we slowly gained their trust.
The girls started with self-harm at a very young age. All three were in ele-
mentary school. Tara and Ema were 13 year old, and XX started cutting herself
already at the age of 10. The average age of the adolescents when they first
harmed themselves was 12 years. It depended on various factors and burdens
that the girls experienced during that period.
XX and Ema had very poor self-image of themselves in the time when they
started self-harm. But Tara started with self-harm out of curiosity, because
her friend did that and she wanted to be cool. XX had a traumatic experience
with the death of her grandmother. Ema started with self-harm, because she
had been struggling with depression. She felt alienated and misunderstood.
There are various reasons for the first self-harm. In most cases, it is an un-
bearable inner pain, distress that the adolescent does not know how to solve
in another manner. The problems that the adolescents have may be very dif-
ferent. The adolescents that injure themselves often suffer from depression,
anxiety, dietary disorder, often consume alcohol and drugs and are sexually
promiscuous. They are characterized by frequent and strong feelings of guilt,
483
with each one for the interviews. The interviewees proposed the place and
time by themselves. One interview was held at the interviewee’s home, and
the other two in the park. We paid attention that there were no distractions
near us.
We manually wrote the data obtained by the qualitative analysis method.
We broke down the relative data of the written material in four sets of con-
tents. We wrote down the results of the interviews, about which we continu-
ally discussed.
Results and Discussion
We tried to find a balanced sample, which would contain the inclusion of
male persons, but we nevertheless did not succeed. The interviewees chose
their pseudonyms by themselves due to data protection. The excerpts from
their interviews are written under pseudonyms.
It was very difficult to get candidates for the interview. Self-harm is a very
intimate and delicate theme, which individuals prefer to retain for them-
selves. At the beginning of the interview, we felt discomfort due to commu-
nicating intimate moments to a complete stranger. We first made a contact
with Tara through an acquaintance. And Tara knew XX and Ema. Ema was
more taciturn. None of the three interviewees wanted to tell more than we
asked. All three of them told that they were very uncomfortable answering
the questions. Their answers were modest. With constant encouragement
and friendly conversation, we slowly gained their trust.
The girls started with self-harm at a very young age. All three were in ele-
mentary school. Tara and Ema were 13 year old, and XX started cutting herself
already at the age of 10. The average age of the adolescents when they first
harmed themselves was 12 years. It depended on various factors and burdens
that the girls experienced during that period.
XX and Ema had very poor self-image of themselves in the time when they
started self-harm. But Tara started with self-harm out of curiosity, because
her friend did that and she wanted to be cool. XX had a traumatic experience
with the death of her grandmother. Ema started with self-harm, because she
had been struggling with depression. She felt alienated and misunderstood.
There are various reasons for the first self-harm. In most cases, it is an un-
bearable inner pain, distress that the adolescent does not know how to solve
in another manner. The problems that the adolescents have may be very dif-
ferent. The adolescents that injure themselves often suffer from depression,
anxiety, dietary disorder, often consume alcohol and drugs and are sexually
promiscuous. They are characterized by frequent and strong feelings of guilt,
483
