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The relationship of violence and trichotillomania
Susan Boughn1, Julie Jaarsma Holdom
1School of Nursing, College of New Jersey, Ewing, NJ 08628-0718, USA. Boughn@TCNJ.edu
Purpose:
To examine the relationship between violence and the development of trichotillomania (TTM) in women.
Design And Methods:
Semistructured interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of 44 women with trichotillomania from 21 American states and Canada. The participants were asked to describe how they live and cope with TTM. The data were subjected to content analysis and were quantified for presentation. Checks were instituted to establish reliability of the content analysis using the criteria of reproducibility and stability.
Findings:
Forty of the 44 women (91%) reported some form of trauma or violence occurring during their lives and 38 (86%) reported a history of violence concurrent with the onset of TTM. Events ranged from repetitive and moderate to severe abuse (including sexual assault, rape, and gang rape) by family members, acquaintances, and strangers.
Conclusions:
These women with trichotillomania experienced a disproportionate number of traumatic or violent episodes in childhood. In most cases, the onset of TTM was correlated with specific episodes of violence. Of special interest is the possible relationship between family chaos experienced during childhood and the onset of TTM.