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The Role of Specific Experiences in Childhood and Youth in the Development of Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID)

Received: 1 November 2014     Accepted: 26 November 2014     Published: 12 January 2015
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Abstract

Task: BIID (Body Integrity Identity Disorder) is an intense feeling of discrepancy between a real intact body and the subjective mental image of a disabled body (e.g. amputation, palsy). The disturbance exists since late childhood or early adolescence and often results in the desire for a surgery. The cause is still unknown but may lie in early developmental phases. Until now, childhood experiences have not been subject of systematic psychological research of BIID. Methods: On the basis of specific hypotheses we investigated differences between a BIID-group (n= 36) and an age and gender parallelized group (n= 36). BIID sufferers vs. control subjects were examined for the following characteristics: quality and quantity of experiences with mental and physical disease, experiences with secondary profit from illness, maladaptive education (emotional neglect, overprotection) and a general admiration for handicapped people in their youth. Results: On the basis of the findings of the present study, it can be assumed, that BIID afflicted persons had experienced no considerable maladaptive education from their parents, neither in the direction of physical abuse nor as overprotective control. On the other hand we found significant differences in specific childhood experiences, particularly with regard to quantity and quality of emotional experience with disability; e.g. participants from our BIID-group reported significantly more disabled people in their former environment than participants from our control group (M BIID = 3.69 ± 0.75, M control = 1.47 ± 0.41, p= 0.004). Moreover we found significant discrepancies according to positive or negative associations towards disability in childhood (M BIID= 5.44 ± 0.31, M control = 3.88 ± 0.29, p< 0.01). We assume those specific experiences with handicapped people in the surrounding of BIID-patients as to be a trigger for early conflicts with the appearance of their own body and an intense feeling that a disabled body fits better to their mental body image. Future investigation should focus on the validation of those cognitions, e.g. through a comparison of BIID-affected people who shared the same social environment in childhood (e.g. siblings).

Published in American Journal of Applied Psychology (Volume 4, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajap.20150401.11
Page(s) 1-8
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2015. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

BIID, Body Integrity Identity Disorder, Body Incongruence Disorder, Apotemnophilia, Xenomelia, Amputee Identity Disorder, Childhood Experiences, Disabled People, Desire for Amputation, Metal Body Image

References
[1] Bayne, T., Levy, N. (2005). Amputees By Choice: Body Integrity Identity Disorder and the Ethics of Amputation. Journal of Applied Philosophy, 22(1), 75-86.
[2] Bechstein, M. (2012). Körperkonzept – Körperschema - Körperbild. Abgerufen am 18.07.2013 von http://www.mbechstein.de/reader_pm/theorie_themen/06_koerperkonzept.pdf
[3] Blanke, O., Morgenthaler, F. D., Brugger, P., Overney, L. S. (2009). Preliminary evidence for a fronto-parietal dysfunction in able-bodied participants with a desire for limp amputation. Journal of Neuropsychology, 3, 181-200.
[4] Blom, R. M., Hennekam, R. C., Denys, D. (2012). Body Integrity Identity Disorder. PLoS ONE 7(4): e34702. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0034702
[5] Brang, D., McGeoch, P. D., Ramachandran, V. S. (2008). Apotemnophilia: a neurological disorder. Cognitive Neuroscience And Neuropsychology, 19(13), 1305-1306.
[6] First, M. B. (2005). Desire for amputation of a limb: paraphilia, psychosis, or a new type of identity disorder [Abstract]. Psychological Medicine, 35, pp 919-928. doi:10.1017/S0033291704003320.
[7] Kasten, E. & Spithaler, F. Body Integrity Identity Disorder: Personality Profiles and Investigation of Motives. In: A. Stirn, A. Thiel &. Oddo (Eds.) Body Integrity Identity Disorder. Pabst Science Pubishers, 2009; 20-40.
[8] Kasten, E. (2009). Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID): Befragung von Betroffenen und Erklärungsansätze. Fortschritte Neurologischer Psychiatrie, 77, 16-24.
[9] Kasten, E. (2012) Body Integrity Identity Disorder – Körperidentität durch erwünschte Behinderung. Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie up to date. 2012; 6(3): 165-177.
[10] Kasten, E., Stirn, A. (2009). Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID) wechselnder Amputationswunsch vom linken auf das rechte Bein. Zeitschrift für Psychiatrie, Psychologie und Psychotherapie, 57(1), 55-61.
[11] McGeoch, P. D., Brang, D., Song, T., Lee, R. R., Huang, M., Ramachandran, V. S. (2009). Apotemnophilia – the Neurological Basis of a ‘Psychological’ Disorder. Nature Precedings : hdl:10101/npre.2009.2954.1 : Posted 17 Mar 2009
[12] Noll, S. (2010). Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID)- Kann eine Amputation/Operation Betroffenen langfristig helfen? – Bachelorarbeit, Stiftung Universität Hildesheim, FB Erziehungs- und Sozialwissenschaften, Institut für Psychologie.
[13] Obernolte, C. (2013). Ursachenforschung: Gibt es Gemeinsamkeiten in der Kindheit und Jugend von BIID-Betroffenen? - Bachelorarbeit, MSH Medical School Hamburg - University of Applied Sciences and Medical University, Hamburg, Germany.
[14] Stirn, A., Thiel, A., Oddo, S. (2010). Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID)- Störungsbild, Diagnostik, Therapieansätze. Basel: Beltz Verlag.
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  • APA Style

    Catharina Obernolte, Thomas Schnell, Erich Kasten. (2015). The Role of Specific Experiences in Childhood and Youth in the Development of Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID). American Journal of Applied Psychology, 4(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20150401.11

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    ACS Style

    Catharina Obernolte; Thomas Schnell; Erich Kasten. The Role of Specific Experiences in Childhood and Youth in the Development of Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID). Am. J. Appl. Psychol. 2015, 4(1), 1-8. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.20150401.11

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    AMA Style

    Catharina Obernolte, Thomas Schnell, Erich Kasten. The Role of Specific Experiences in Childhood and Youth in the Development of Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID). Am J Appl Psychol. 2015;4(1):1-8. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.20150401.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajap.20150401.11,
      author = {Catharina Obernolte and Thomas Schnell and Erich Kasten},
      title = {The Role of Specific Experiences in Childhood and Youth in the Development of Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID)},
      journal = {American Journal of Applied Psychology},
      volume = {4},
      number = {1},
      pages = {1-8},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajap.20150401.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20150401.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajap.20150401.11},
      abstract = {Task: BIID (Body Integrity Identity Disorder) is an intense feeling of discrepancy between a real intact body and the subjective mental image of a disabled body (e.g. amputation, palsy). The disturbance exists since late childhood or early adolescence and often results in the desire for a surgery. The cause is still unknown but may lie in early developmental phases. Until now, childhood experiences have not been subject of systematic psychological research of BIID. Methods: On the basis of specific hypotheses we investigated differences between a BIID-group (n= 36) and an age and gender parallelized group (n= 36). BIID sufferers vs. control subjects were examined for the following characteristics: quality and quantity of experiences with mental and physical disease, experiences with secondary profit from illness, maladaptive education (emotional neglect, overprotection) and a general admiration for handicapped people in their youth. Results: On the basis of the findings of the present study, it can be assumed, that BIID afflicted persons had experienced no considerable maladaptive education from their parents, neither in the direction of physical abuse nor as overprotective control. On the other hand we found significant differences in specific childhood experiences, particularly with regard to quantity and quality of emotional experience with disability; e.g. participants from our BIID-group reported significantly more disabled people in their former environment than participants from our control group (M BIID = 3.69 ± 0.75, M control = 1.47 ± 0.41, p= 0.004). Moreover we found significant discrepancies according to positive or negative associations towards disability in childhood (M BIID= 5.44 ± 0.31, M control = 3.88 ± 0.29, p< 0.01). We assume those specific experiences with handicapped people in the surrounding of BIID-patients as to be a trigger for early conflicts with the appearance of their own body and an intense feeling that a disabled body fits better to their mental body image. Future investigation should focus on the validation of those cognitions, e.g. through a comparison of BIID-affected people who shared the same social environment in childhood (e.g. siblings).},
     year = {2015}
    }
    

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    T1  - The Role of Specific Experiences in Childhood and Youth in the Development of Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID)
    AU  - Catharina Obernolte
    AU  - Thomas Schnell
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    T2  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
    JF  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
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Author Information
  • Dept. of Psychology, Friedrich-Schiller-University, Fürstengraben 1, 07743 Jena, Germany

  • Dept. of Clinical Psychology, Medical School Hamburg, University of Applied Sciences, Am Kaiserkai 1, D-20457 Hamburg, Germany

  • Dept. of Neuropsychology, Medical School Hamburg, University of Applied Sciences, Am Kaiserkai 1, D-20457 Hamburg, Germany

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