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Body Integrity Identity Disorder – a Systematic Record of the Strategies to Reduce the Strain

Received: 12 May 2015     Accepted: 26 May 2015     Published: 13 June 2015
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Abstract

People with Body Integrity Identity Disorder feel a discrepancy between their outward appearance and their sensed inner body image. To help these persons it is of major importance to find out how they deal with their disease in every day’s life. What leads to a reduction of the wish for an amputation, paralysis or any other kind of disability? What strengthens the desire? Therefore this study deals with a systematic record of strategies and methods used by BIID affected persons for handling with their disease. Method: Hypotheses were formulated which concern the experience of different strategies, activities or situations with regard to the individual wish manifestation. For the investigation of the hypotheses as well as the record of the socio-demographic data a questionnaire with 42 items was created at an online platform specifically designed for scientific studies. Sample: 34 evaluable data sets could be collected. 24 persons (70.6 %) were male and 10 persons (29.4%) were female. The average age amounted 40.26 years. 15 participants indicated to wish an amputation, eleven persons yearned for paraplegia, two concerned people indicated the wish to be bladder incontinent, one person yearned for blindness and one more indicated just the wish to sit in a wheelchair. Four participants did not make a statement to their individual wish manifestation. Results: Except the pretending-behavior, which is used by 47.1% of the participants to handle with the disease, could not be found a strategy, activity or situation which is sensed as wish reducing without exception by all participants. Summing up the collected results, they show a high individuality regarding the experience of wish reducing and wish increasing factors. On the other hand the results show that the perception of disabled people and any activity with BIID leads to a strengthening of the desire. Conclusion: Almost half of the participants are using the pretending-behavior by handling BIID. Pretending leads to a short-term reduction of the wish for amputation reasoned by appeared positive emotions. Long-termly this behavior though seems as an intensifier and holds up the disease and therefore the desire for amputation. Persons affected by BIID should try to extinguish personally experienced wish-increasing factors as well as to integrate wish-reducing strategies in many areas of their life as possible. Disease providing methods need to be identified and substituted with other techniques.

Published in Psychology and Behavioral Sciences (Volume 4, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.pbs.20150404.11
Page(s) 139-146
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

Body Integrity Identity Disorder, BIID, Apotemnophilia, Amputee Identity Disorder, Xenomelia

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] 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.
[3] Blom, R., Hennekam, R., Denys, D. (2012). Body Integrity Identity Disorder. PLoS ONE, 7(4), e34702. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0034702.
[4] Bortz, J. (2010). Statistik für Human- und Sozialwissenschaftler. Berlin Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag.
[5] Bruno, R. (1997). Devotees, Pretenders and Wannabes: Two Cases of Factitious Disability Disorder. Journal of Sexuality and Disability, 15(4), 243-260.
[6] First, M. B. (2004). Desire for amputation of a limb: paraphilia, psychosis, or a new type of identity disorder. Psychological Medicine, 34, 1-10.
[7] Furth, G.M, Smith, R. (2000). Amputee Identity Disorder: Information, Questions, Answers and Recommendations About Self-Demand Amputation. AuthorHouse Paperback.
[8] Kasten, E. (2009). Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID): Befragung von Betroffenen und Erklärungsansätze. Fortschritte Neurologie Psychiatrie, 77, 16-24.
[9] Kasten, E. (2012). Body Integrity Identity Disorder – Körperidentität durch erwünschte Behinderung. Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie up2date, 6(3), 165-177.
[10] Kasten, E. (2013). I feel like I was in the wrong body. AlJazeera (online magazine). http://www.aljazeera.com
[11] Kasten, E., Spithaler F. (2009). Body Integrity Identity Disorder: Personality Profiles and Investigation of Motives. In: Stirn A, Thiel A, Oddo E, editors. Body Integrity Identity Disorder. Pabst Science Pubishers, 20–40.
[12] 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.
[13] Kroeger, K., Schnell, T. Kasten, E.: Effects of psychotherapy on patients suffering from Body Integrity Identity Disorder. American Journal of Applied Psychology. 2014; 3(5): 110-115
[14] McGeoch P., Brang D., Song T., Lee R., Huang M., et al. (2011). Xenomelia: a new right parietal lobe syndrome. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 82, 1314–1319.
[15] Money J, Jobaris R, Furth G. (1977). Apotemnophilia: two cases of self-demand amputation as a paraphilia. Journal of Sex Research, 13(2), 115–125.
[16] Müller, S. (2007): Dieses Bein will ich nicht. Gehirn und Geist, Juli/August, 66.
[17] Müller, S. (2009): Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID) - Is the Amputation of Healthy Limps Ethically Justified?. The American Journal of Bioethics, 9, 36-43.
[18] Neff, D. & Kasten, E. (2009). BIID: What do health care professionals know? European Journal of Counselling Psychology, 1(2), 16-30.
[19] Noll, S. & Kasten, E. (2014). Body integrity identity disorder (BIID): How satisfied are successful wannabes? Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, 3(6), 222-232
[20] Ryan C, (2009). Amputating Healthy Limbs – Should peaople with body integrity identity disorder be allowed to amputate a healthy limb? Issues Magazine, 86, 31-33.
[21] Sedda, A., Bottini, G. (2014). Apotemnophilia, body integrity identity disorder or xenomelia? Psychiatric and neurologic etiologies face each other. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 10, 1255-1265.
[22] Stirn, A., Thiel, A. & Oddo, S. (2010). Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID) - Störungsbild, Diagnostik, Therapieansätze. Basel: Beltz Verlag.
[23] Forum for people suffering from BIID and their relatives and friends (Forum für Menschen mit BIID und deren Angehörige und Freunde im deutschsprachigen Raum): http://forum.biid.ch, 29.6.2014.
[24] Informations for BIID-sufferers, relatives, physicians and therapists (Informationsseite für BIID-Betroffene, Angehörige, Ärzte und Therapeuten): http://www.biid-dach.org, 15.07.2014.
[25] Association for the promotion of studies of body identity disorders (Verein zur Förderung von Studien über Körperidentitätsstörungen): http://www.vfsk.info, 28.07.2014.
[26] Personal sources: Email-Correspondence with BIID affected people.
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  • APA Style

    Jelena Helmer, Erich Kasten. (2015). Body Integrity Identity Disorder – a Systematic Record of the Strategies to Reduce the Strain. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, 4(4), 139-146. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pbs.20150404.11

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    ACS Style

    Jelena Helmer; Erich Kasten. Body Integrity Identity Disorder – a Systematic Record of the Strategies to Reduce the Strain. Psychol. Behav. Sci. 2015, 4(4), 139-146. doi: 10.11648/j.pbs.20150404.11

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    AMA Style

    Jelena Helmer, Erich Kasten. Body Integrity Identity Disorder – a Systematic Record of the Strategies to Reduce the Strain. Psychol Behav Sci. 2015;4(4):139-146. doi: 10.11648/j.pbs.20150404.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.pbs.20150404.11,
      author = {Jelena Helmer and Erich Kasten},
      title = {Body Integrity Identity Disorder – a Systematic Record of the Strategies to Reduce the Strain},
      journal = {Psychology and Behavioral Sciences},
      volume = {4},
      number = {4},
      pages = {139-146},
      doi = {10.11648/j.pbs.20150404.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pbs.20150404.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.pbs.20150404.11},
      abstract = {People with Body Integrity Identity Disorder feel a discrepancy between their outward appearance and their sensed inner body image. To help these persons it is of major importance to find out how they deal with their disease in every day’s life. What leads to a reduction of the wish for an amputation, paralysis or any other kind of disability? What strengthens the desire? Therefore this study deals with a systematic record of strategies and methods used by BIID affected persons for handling with their disease. Method: Hypotheses were formulated which concern the experience of different strategies, activities or situations with regard to the individual wish manifestation. For the investigation of the hypotheses as well as the record of the socio-demographic data a questionnaire with 42 items was created at an online platform specifically designed for scientific studies. Sample: 34 evaluable data sets could be collected. 24 persons (70.6 %) were male and 10 persons (29.4%) were female. The average age amounted 40.26 years. 15 participants indicated to wish an amputation, eleven persons yearned for paraplegia, two concerned people indicated the wish to be bladder incontinent, one person yearned for blindness and one more indicated just the wish to sit in a wheelchair. Four participants did not make a statement to their individual wish manifestation. Results: Except the pretending-behavior, which is used by 47.1% of the participants to handle with the disease, could not be found a strategy, activity or situation which is sensed as wish reducing without exception by all participants. Summing up the collected results, they show a high individuality regarding the experience of wish reducing and wish increasing factors. On the other hand the results show that the perception of disabled people and any activity with BIID leads to a strengthening of the desire. Conclusion: Almost half of the participants are using the pretending-behavior by handling BIID. Pretending leads to a short-term reduction of the wish for amputation reasoned by appeared positive emotions. Long-termly this behavior though seems as an intensifier and holds up the disease and therefore the desire for amputation. Persons affected by BIID should try to extinguish personally experienced wish-increasing factors as well as to integrate wish-reducing strategies in many areas of their life as possible. Disease providing methods need to be identified and substituted with other techniques.},
     year = {2015}
    }
    

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    AU  - Erich Kasten
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    AB  - People with Body Integrity Identity Disorder feel a discrepancy between their outward appearance and their sensed inner body image. To help these persons it is of major importance to find out how they deal with their disease in every day’s life. What leads to a reduction of the wish for an amputation, paralysis or any other kind of disability? What strengthens the desire? Therefore this study deals with a systematic record of strategies and methods used by BIID affected persons for handling with their disease. Method: Hypotheses were formulated which concern the experience of different strategies, activities or situations with regard to the individual wish manifestation. For the investigation of the hypotheses as well as the record of the socio-demographic data a questionnaire with 42 items was created at an online platform specifically designed for scientific studies. Sample: 34 evaluable data sets could be collected. 24 persons (70.6 %) were male and 10 persons (29.4%) were female. The average age amounted 40.26 years. 15 participants indicated to wish an amputation, eleven persons yearned for paraplegia, two concerned people indicated the wish to be bladder incontinent, one person yearned for blindness and one more indicated just the wish to sit in a wheelchair. Four participants did not make a statement to their individual wish manifestation. Results: Except the pretending-behavior, which is used by 47.1% of the participants to handle with the disease, could not be found a strategy, activity or situation which is sensed as wish reducing without exception by all participants. Summing up the collected results, they show a high individuality regarding the experience of wish reducing and wish increasing factors. On the other hand the results show that the perception of disabled people and any activity with BIID leads to a strengthening of the desire. Conclusion: Almost half of the participants are using the pretending-behavior by handling BIID. Pretending leads to a short-term reduction of the wish for amputation reasoned by appeared positive emotions. Long-termly this behavior though seems as an intensifier and holds up the disease and therefore the desire for amputation. Persons affected by BIID should try to extinguish personally experienced wish-increasing factors as well as to integrate wish-reducing strategies in many areas of their life as possible. Disease providing methods need to be identified and substituted with other techniques.
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Author Information
  • Medical School Hamburg, University of Applied Sciences, Hamburg, Germany

  • Dept. of Neuropsychology, Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

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