The Correlation between Oral Self-Harm and Ethnicity in Institutionalized Children.

Alexandra Mihaela Stoica,Anca Maria Pop,Monica Monea,Ramona Elena Vlad,Oana Elena Stoica

doi:10.3390/children8010002

Alexandra Mihaela Stoica, Anca Maria Pop + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/children8010002

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Abstract

Oral self-harm was described in institutionalized children who share a lack of emotional attention; frequently these children experience feelings such as neglect, loneliness, isolation or lack of connection with the world. The aim of our paper was to conduct a cross-sectional study in order to assess the prevalence of this behavior and its correlation with ethnicity among children from three institutions located in the central part of Romania. We examined 116 children from three ethnic groups, Romanians, Hungarians and local Roma population aged between 10–14 years old. The oral soft tissues were evaluated by one dentist who recorded the lesions of lips, buccal mucosa, commissures and tongue; data were statistically analyzed at a level of significance of p < 0.05. We found oral self-harm lesions in 18.1% participants, with statistically significant higher odds in girls (p = 0.03). The results showed an association between ethnicity and the development of these lesions (Chi-square p = 0.04). The most frequent lesions were located at oral commissures (35.48%), buccal mucosa (29.03%) and upper lip (19.36%). Oral self-harm lesions have a high incidence among institutionalized children in Romania. Identification of these cases in early stages is important, as these conditions are known to be aggravated during adolescence and adulthood.

Highlights

Self-mutilation is defined as a behavioral disturbance that consists of self-induced damage to body tissues, which might be associated in some cases with a conscious intent to commit suicide
In the United States, orphanages were documented in the first half of the 20th century [5]
According to data from literature, institutional care in Romania was associated with an impairment of the physical development [10] and children who spent more than 6 months in an institution had higher rates of autism symptoms, inattention or disinhibited social engagement [11]

Summary

Introduction

Self-mutilation is defined as a behavioral disturbance that consists of self-induced damage to body tissues, which might be associated in some cases with a conscious intent to commit suicide. Worldwide there are between 8–10 million children living in different types of institution [6] and there is much scientific evidence that their psychological development is impaired by these life conditions [7]; the trend of placing children in institutions appears to be growing [8,9]. According to data from literature, institutional care in Romania was associated with an impairment of the physical development [10] and children who spent more than 6 months in an institution had higher rates of autism symptoms, inattention or disinhibited social engagement [11]. Most institutionalized children experience poor caregiver-child interaction and their physical, cognitive and social development is often delayed. The inability to live with their parents predisposes institutionalized children to low self-esteem and impaired psychosocial development (attention problems or lower intelligence quotient) [7], which might represent confounding factors in the analysis of the correlation between self-harm and institutionalization

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