An Informal Report on Trichotillomania (hair pulling behavior) Based on Internet communications (March 2006)

Vijai Sharma, PhD, Kandie Hansen, B.A.

 

Background Information

This report is based on unsolicited communications to Sharma by the visitors of the website (www.mindpub.com) in response to his articles on trichotillomania.  No structure was provided to the website visitors for providing specific personal or behavioral information.  Analysis supplied in this report is based on entirely spontaneous information which has its own advantages and drawbacks.  For example, advantage is that Internet communicators volunteer information on their own with lesser influence of social desirability and interviewer’s persona.  A drawback is the absence of standardized and uniform information.  However, authors believe that voluntary, unsolicited and spontaneous information presented here provides valuable and interesting information. 

We share this report with all of you have or had troubling time with the problem of hair pulling and your loved ones because the insights provided by you may increase collective understanding of this problem and offer hope and inspiration required to take action against the problem

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Sample

 

152 males and females ranging from 4 months to 54 years of age

 

                                                Male                Female             Unknown        Total   

4 months-12 years:                  9                      18                    3                      30

13-17 years:                             2                      15                    2                      19

18 and older:                           19                    77                    7                      103

                       

            The Gender ratio

Out of 140 people with identified gender, 79% are female (110/140) and 21% male.  Thus the ratio is 4 females for 1 male.  We don’t know if that is the true ratio in the general population or just a reflection of people visiting our site and communicating with us.  

Age Factor

Hair pulling behavior can be demonstrated by children of very early age.  It can continue to be a problem from childhood to adulthood. It can disappear for a while and resurface at a later age. 

 

Hair pulling problem is an “equal opportunity employer.”  It is non-discriminative regarding age, gender or economic class of its victim.  

 

The Site of Hair Pulling

57% of you (87 out of 152) specified the site from which you pull hair. 

Those of you who specified hair pulling site, 49% (43 out of 87) reported scalp as the most common site for hair pulling, 

28% of you (24 out of 87) reported the next most common site, eyelashes and/or eyebrows 

22% of you (19 out of 87) pull hair from multiple sites  

Other sites of hair pulling among other include the following: ears, arms, legs, 

nose, mustache, sideburns, fingers, private areas, chin, and belly button

 

Activity or “State” During the Act of Hair pulling

19 of you reported a tendency to pull hair watching TV or studying.  It is easier to pull hair if both hands or one hand is free which knowingly or unknowingly tends to get to hair, which may start as a seemingly harmless act of twirling or feeling the hair.  . 

Pulling hair during studying or watching TV was given by 2 children (23 however did not report a cause for pulling), 2 teens (13 did not report a cause), and 4 adults (78 did not report a cause).

Fourteen of you reported “stress” as the factor that triggered hair pulling behavior.

Three of 3 of you reported depression and 2 of you reported “boredom” as triggers of hair pulling behavior.

Only two of you reported that you are not aware when or where you pull hair.  But we suspect there are many people who initiate the behavior of hair pulling subconsciously.  Though many people initiate hair pulling automatically and without awareness but they become aware as the act of hair pulling progresses.   

 

 

Site of Pulling

 

AGE GROUP	SCALP	EYELASHES And or Eyebrows	MULTIPLE/Other SITES OF PULLING	SITE NOT SPECIFIED/ UNKNOWN
CHILDREN Total #    30	14	4	2	11
TEENAGERS Total #    19	5	2	6	6
ADULTS Total #    104	25	18	11	50

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

Activity During hair pulling

 

AGE GROUP	BOREDOM	STRESS	OTHER: WATCHING TV, STUDYING	UNAWARE OF PULLING	DEPRESSION	UNKNOWN CAUSE
CHILDREN Total #   30			8			22
TEENAGERS Total #     19		2	3			14
ADULTS Total #    103	2	12	8	2	3	77