Emotional cycles maintaining trichotillomania (hair-pulling disorder) across subtypes
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Date
2013
Authors
Siwiec, Sebastian
University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Education
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Education, c2013
Abstract
The emotions associated with initiating, maintaining, and reinforcing hairpulling disorder
(trichotillomania) were studied. Studies conducted have only looked at small community
or inpatient samples, and little is known about the interplay of hairpulling subtypes and
emotions. For this study, 427 participants completed an online questionnaire around their
hairpulling subtype, severity, emotions experienced by hairpulling, and comorbid anxiety
and depression. Using the Milwaukee Inventory for Subtypes of Trichotillomania-Adult
Version (MIST-A; Flessner, Woods, Franklin, Cashin, & Keuthen, 2008), this is the first
study to address the regulation of emotions across subtypes. Participants were divided as
either high- or low-focused and either high- or low automatic. Significant differences
between hairpulling subtypes and hairpulling severity were reported. Subtypes differed
in the severity they experienced emotions; individuals with high-focused pulling reported
more intense negative emotions, and a greater number of emotions regulated by pulling.
Positive emotions⎯happiness, relief, and calm⎯were also found to play a significant
role in reinforcing hairpulling. For high-focused subtypes, negative emotions before- and
after-pulling were associated with greater severity, indicating that altering negative
emotions via pulling plays an important role for high-focused subtypes. High-focused
subtypes also reported higher stress, depression and anxiety than either automatic
subtypes or the general population, and were found to have anxiety and depression
significantly associated with hairpulling severity and experiencing negative emotions that
initiated hairpulling. Clinical and treatment implications, study limitations, and areas of future research are discussed
Description
xviii, 227 leaves ; 29 cm
Keywords
Compulsive hair pulling , Self-injurious behavior , Emotions -- Physiological aspects , Emotions -- Psychological aspects , Dissertations, Academic