Adolescent dress, Part I: Dress and body markings of psychiatric outpatients and inpatients

This paper investigated the dress and body markings of 100 adolescent psychiatric patients (both hospitalized and never-hospitalized). Data were obtained from in-depth interviews conducted by a child psychiatrist. In contrast to nonhospitalized patients, hospitalized patients had a higher incidence of self-scarring, i.e., marks applied to self, either as a self-mutilation/suicide gesture or serving another purpose (for example, carving a boyfriend's initials into one's arm). Other individual expressions of appearance did not differentiate hospitalized from nonhospitalized patients. Detailed dress and appearance observations, questionnaires, photo reviews, self-portraits, and family discussions contributed to the beneficial effect of psychotherapy by focusing on feelings evoked and symbolized in dress and body markings.