Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Use of a Psychophysiological Script-driven Imagery Experiment to Study Trauma-related Dissociation in Borderline Personality Disorder
Published on: March 8, 2018
A case study of female genital self-mutilation in schizophrenia
1Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK.
Abstract:
A case of deliberate genital self-mutilation in a woman with familial schizophrenia is presented. Such behaviour, though well recognized in females with severe personality disorders, is extremely rare in female psychotics. The genital mutilation may be partially understood as a consequence of delusionally motivated action against a background of low self-esteem, premorbid body-image preoccupation, forced early sexual activity and hence profound ambivalence towards adult sexuality. Dealing with this constructively was hampered by a cognitive style characterized by impaired reasoning and reality testing. Tests of reasoning, judgement and reality testing showed deficits, and computed tomography revealed dilatation of the left frontal ventricular system. Both neuropsychological and psychodynamic factors appeared to be of relevance in this case.
Related Concept Videos
Schizophrenia
Positive Symptoms Schizophrenia: Hallucinations and Delusions
Hallucinations
Hallucinations in...
Biological Causes of Schizophrenia
Genetic Factors in Schizophrenia
The genetic basis of schizophrenia is strongly supported by family and twin studies.
Psychological and Sociocultural Causes of Schizophrenia
Psychosurgery
Historical Development of Psychosurgery
In the 1930s, Portuguese neurologist Antonio Egas Moniz introduced a surgical procedure designed...
Positive Symptoms of Schizophrenia: Hallucinations and Delusions
Thought Disorders
Disorganized and unusual thought processes mark thought disorders in schizophrenia. One key feature is disorganized speech, where an individual's conversation includes loosely...

