What is body modification addiction?

Background

Body modification’s long history is rooted in the practice of more clearly marking or imposing meaning upon a particular person by physically changing their appearance. The practice of body piercing and tattooing, for example, has enabled cultures to more closely monitor religious affiliation, social groups, and social status for thousands of years.

Modern understandings of body modification have evolved in nuanced ways. While some cultures continue to use modification rituals in the ways of predecessors, other cultures have seen body modification practices take a more provocative turn, away from tenets of group affiliation or rite-of-passage and toward self-expression and identity formation.

The latter part of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first century have seen a steep increase in body modification (in both the volume of people choosing to modify their body and in the larger cross-section of society engaging in the practice). Body modification has become so popular that it has become difficult to assign a person to a particular subgroup (or subculture) based solely on the chosen modification. Historically, this was the principal reason why people chose to modify their body.

The most common motivators behind the practice of body modification include art and fashion, individuality (control), group affiliation, and personal transformation. As such, the tenor of body modification research has shifted slightly over the years, away from issues of self-mutilation and toward a greater appreciation for and understanding of how such practices align with one’s self-structures and ongoing personal narrative.

Finally, a powerful undercurrent to these motivators is that of addiction. A question that remains is this: What exactly is a person becoming addicted to when his or her body modification rituals intersect with obvious patterns of addictive behavior?

Transitional Research

Sociological research on issues related to body modification has been largely replaced with research aimed at identifying existing personality structures that make body modification more likely. This transition has been made, in part, because issues of body modification have become so prevalent in society. Body modification is now a mainstream practice, so drawing lines between specific social groups and exploring their derivations has become something of an antiquated notion.

Psychological research has instead taken up the issue of underlying motivational factors and existing personality structures that make it more likely for someone to pursue specific body modification (body piercing, tattooing, and plastic surgery, in particular). Additionally, while there is a dearth of research focused exclusively on body modification addiction, valuable research is available to help one better understand the mechanisms that lead to addictive behavior. Of particular importance is research that values pluralism and examines body modification addiction through several, competing theoretical modalities.

Modern research is far more collaborative and inclusive when it comes to understanding body modification and treating body modification addiction. Research now considers traditional, well-accepted medical underpinnings of addiction, longstanding sociological precedents inherent to all body modification, and the complex self-processes and personality structures that may predispose people to body modification, all of which has helped advance research in this area. As such, what may have once fallen into the realm of psychopathology is now considered more broadly and more carefully.

Motivators and Addictive Behavior

An addiction, by definition, is a behavior that persists despite negative consequences. In the case of body modification addiction, the negative consequences can include infections (sometimes severe), the perpetuation of unhealthy coping mechanisms, and potential pathological stigma (among others). Underlying these consequences are complex representations and expressions of the self, including prevalent cultural dynamics and experiences in one’s early history that led to a specific self-identity.

Considerable research has looked at the most prevalent motivators and personality traits common to people who engage in body modification. This research has helped advance the discussion about how to best identify and treat body modification addiction. It considers, for example, external and internal triggers, conflicts that arise, and factors that interfere with goal-setting and necessary support systems.

Perhaps most important to any treatment of addiction is identifying the motivation in place to help reduce (and ultimately stop) the negative behavior. A preliminary, vital step would be considering why it is that someone is engaged in the behavior in the first place (before even considering why it is that they want to change). Taken together, evaluating motivational factors and personality constructs that contribute to a specific behavior is a crucial first step for any treatment.

With respect to body modification, considerable overlap exists between motivators and personality traits common to those who engage in this behavior. Typically, the average body modifier is one who seeks sensation and control and one who is (often) driven by art and fashion, individuality, group affiliation, and personal transformation. Those addicted to body modification typically strive to hold on to specific memories, experiences, and values (positive and negative).

Current Understandings

How might one answer a person who asks why he or she cannot stop a child from piercing his or her body? Before answering this question, one may want to consider how body modification addiction differs from other substance-based addictions.

Whereas tracing the derivation of one’s substance-based addiction is more “paint-by-numbers” (linear), tracing the derivation of one’s body modification addiction is more comparable to a fresco painting, with layers upon layers of factors contributing to the overall portrait. It can be difficult to navigate to a particular place in time, or event, that led to a specific body modification addiction. Instead, it is better to consider the range of factors that can make body modification addiction so complex. This is precisely what modern research is aiming to do.

Discriminative overtones have been largely replaced with questioning and curious inquiry about how (and why) people choose to modify their body, about what is driving their proclivity to do so, and about possible patterns or character traits common to those who modify often. The body has been an artistic canvas for thousands of years. It also has become more than an object. The body has become the vehicle through which people assert control in their lives, transform and heal in the face of trauma, and tell the world how they would like to be identified.

Much has been written about the ways in which people use their body to reclaim some aspect of their life, empower themselves, and express themselves in a therapeutic way. As such, a twenty-first-century understanding of body modification has been elevated by research examining theories of the self and embracing pluralism. What is known about body modification addiction has been greatly enhanced by research into motivational factors and personality constructs common to those who engage in this behavior. Future research should continue this trend, examining the powerful representations of the self and cultural factors that shape human identity.

Bibliography

Nathanson, Craig, Delroy L. Paulhus, and Kevin M. Williams. “Personality and Misconduct Correlates of Body Modification and Other Cultural Deviance Markers.” Journal of Research in Personality 40 (2006): 779–802. Print.

Pitts, V. In The Flesh: The Cultural Politics of Body Modification. New York: Palgrave, 2003. Print.

Suchet, Melanie. “The 21st Century Body: Introduction.” Studies in Gender and Sexuality 10.3 (2009): 113–18. Print.

Winchel, Ronald M., and Michael Stanley. “Self-Injurious Behavior: A Review of the Behavior and Biology of Self-Mutilation.” American Journal of Psychiatry 148 (1991): 306–17. Print.

Wohlrab, Silke, et al. “Differences in Personality Characteristics Between Body-Modified and Non-Modified Individuals: Associations with Individual Personality Traits and Their Possible Evolutionary Implications.” European Journal of Personality 21.7 (2007): 931–51. Print.

Wohlrab, Silke, Jutta Stahl, and Peter M. Kappeler. “Modifying the Body: Motivations for Getting Tattooed and Pierced.” Body Image 4.1 (2007): 87–95. Print.