Tattoos: what is their significance?

Khosla, Vivek; Joseph, Verghese; Gordon, Harvey

doi:10.1192/apt.bp.108.006205

Cited by 9 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Although several studies have indicated a greater prevalence of tattoos among psychiatric samples compared to the general population, the data to support this conclusion are largely drawn from older studies based on comparisons of cross-sectional measures of psychopathology among tattooed individuals in either non-psychiatric settings or psychiatric settings with inadequate controls between samples[ 10 ]. For example, Birmingham et al[ 11 ] reported an association between tattoos and a diagnosis of schizophrenia, but their study was based on a limited sample of male prisoners with visible tattoos.…”

Section: What Do Tattoos Tell Us About Their Wearers?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Tattoos as a window to the psyche: How talking about skin art can inform psychiatric practice

Roggenkamp¹,

Nicholls²,

Pierre³

2017

WJP

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Tattooing the skin as a means of personal expression is a ritualized practice that has been around for centuries across many different cultures. Accordingly, the symbolic meaning of tattoos has evolved over time and is highly individualized, from both the internal perspective of the wearer and the external perspective of an observer. Within modern Western societies through the 1970s, tattoos represented a cultural taboo, typically associated with those outside of the mainstream such as soldiers, incarcerated criminals, gang members, and others belonging to marginalized and counter-cultural groups. This paper aims to review the more recent epidemiology of tattoos in Western culture in order to establish that tattooing has become a mainstream phenomenon. We then review psychological and psychiatric aspects of tattoos, with a goal of revising outmoded stigmas about tattooing and helping clinicians working with tattooed patients to facilitate an exploration of the personal meaning of skin art and self-identity. We suggest that as a kind of augmentation of the physical exam, looking at and talking to patients about their tattoos can provide a valuable window into the psyche, informing clinical practice.

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Section: What Do Tattoos Tell Us About Their Wearers?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Tattoos as a window to the psyche: How talking about skin art can inform psychiatric practice

Roggenkamp¹,

Nicholls²,

Pierre³

2017

WJP

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“…With respect to tattoos, a higher than average prevalence of skin markings has been found among young adults who use mental health services[26,27]. In an early study of visible tattoos on a psychiatric ward, Birmingham et al[28] reported a 30% rate of schizophrenia.…”

Section: Physical Appearancementioning

confidence: 99%

Identity and schizophrenia: Who do I want to be?

Seeman

2017

WJP

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Many individuals with schizophrenia have occasional difficulty defining both to themselves and to others who they truly are. Perhaps for this reason they make attempts to change core aspects of themselves. These attempts may be delusional, but are too often unjustly dismissed as delusional before the potential value of the change is considered. Instead of facilitation, obstacles are placed in the way of hoped-for body modifications or changes of name or of religious faith. This paper discusses the various changes of identity sometimes undertaken by individuals with schizophrenia who may or may not be deluded. Ethical and clinical ramifications are discussed. The recommendation is made that, when clinicians respond to requests for help with identity change, safety needs to be the main consideration.

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“…As I (Lane, ) have argued, these strands of research overemphasize the relationship between being modified and deviance, immoral behavior, or mental illness. This scholarship continues despite research showing weak, if not contradictory findings (Iannaccone et al, ; Jennings et al, ; Khosla, Joseph, & Harvey, ).…”

Section: Existing Research On Body Modificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding body modification: A process‐based framework

Lane

2017

Sociology Compass

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This manuscript evaluates existing literature on body modification. Prior research has focused on the modification itself, either the motivation for attaining it or the meanings behind it from the perspective of the wearer. Considering these prior findings, scholars have neglected to examine how body modifications are the outcome of a complex social process. This manuscript rectifies these weaknesses by addressing the field of body modification through the framework of cultural production. This shifts the focus from the outcome of a social process, the modification, to an analysis of the processes by which modifications are produced. By examining these processes, a more coherent theoretical understanding can be developed.

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Tattoos: what is their significance?

Cited by 9 publications

References 30 publications

Tattoos as a window to the psyche: How talking about skin art can inform psychiatric practice

Tattoos as a window to the psyche: How talking about skin art can inform psychiatric practice

Identity and schizophrenia: Who do I want to be?

Understanding body modification: A process‐based framework

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