By: Soumya Chaudhary
Abstract
Introduction
Adolescence is a period of development, during which teenagers often tend to
face various symptoms of anxiety and depression due to the process of
development, their social surroundings, and hormonal changes that take place in
their day-to-day lives. Many teenagers also tend not to reach out for help during
such crucial times and hide their feelings. Instead, they sometimes choose
harmful coping mechanisms to help reduce adverse symptoms caused by mental
health issues. Nail biting is considered a very common behavioral problem in
children and is very prevalent. A study conducted explained that 48.2% of
adolescents in the 11- to 17-year-old age group had a habit of nail-biting.
Mental health issues were much more prevalent in children who used to bite
their nails and they also generally had fewer forms of social support making it
difficult for them to navigate their adolescence this further led to behavioral
problems such as nail biting,
Causes and Motivation
Nail biting also known as onychophagia is reported in children and adolescents
however is not frequently mentioned in research related to psychiatry, medicine,
or dentistry. Many studies assume that nail biting can reduce anxiety however,
there is no evidence stating that. Moreover, anxiety is considered a state during
nail-biting in adolescents. Studies indicate that nail biting includes stress,
heredity, imitation of family members, thumb-sucking habits, and poorly
manicured nails. Nail biting is also considered unattractive and undesirable
by adults such as parents and teachers that whom the adolescent interacts daily.
This could lead to increased feelings of stress and social pressure on adolescents
with the habit of nail biting and can be further harmful to their mental health.
Many nailbiters tend to have more anxiety than others and children tend to do it
during moments of anguish, lack of understanding of a lecture or lesson, reading
and listening to sad or horror stories, and if they are forced to go to bed earlier.
Impacts
Nail biting can have various complications and can cause various adverse
effects on an adolescent. Studies have divided the complications into 2 broad
categories including psychological and physical. Psychological categories
include humiliation, social impairment, and emotional suffering whereas,
physical complications include Malformed nails, Infection of the nail and
surrounding soft tissue; increased risk of parasitic infections, Stomach
infections due to swallowing nail particles and dirt; pain in the
temporomandibular (TMJ) joint or jaw joint, injury to the gums, paronychia,
self-inflicted gingival injuries, secondary bacterial infections, osteomyelitis.
Nail biting is harmful for both psychiatric and dental health and many
adolescents who nail bites require a dental referral and an assessment of oral
hygiene. Complications can also include damage to the cuticles or the nails,
secondary bacterial infections, and dental problems. Nail biting can cause
infections on the nails such as onychomycosis and paronychia. Furthermore,
these infections can also spread to the mouth and cause mouth infections.
Coping Mechanism and Management
Many studies do not recommend the treatment of children with Nail biting
behavior and many interventions that have been tried by the parents have
usually failed. Interventions such as covering nails with nail paints or
unpleasant materials are usually ineffective, such as chewing gum and wearing a
rubber band on the wrist, however, they are yet to be studied. Organizing a
nail-biting prevention program in schools can also be considered a successful
intervention for adolescents. According to a study, the effects of having
prevention programs in school were considered very positive. Students started
cutting their nails more often and did not experience the need to bite their nails,
further helping them stop this bad habit.
Conclusion
Nail biting is a very common behavioral problem during adolescence, which
may be motivated by emotional stress, anxiety, and environmental issues like
imitation or poorly manicured nails. Some believe that it is an anxiety-reducing
behavior, while studies do not confirm it; however, it may be a symptom of
various mental health issues. The impacts and complications that can be caused
by nail biting include dental injury and various bacterial infections related to the
nail and mouth. While many interventional measures are considered unhelpful,
strategies such as school-based prevention programs tend to reduce the behavior
pattern. Ultimately, it's very important to know what motivates nail biting and
its effects in deducing effective ways of helping adolescents with the habit and
in dealing with the wider mental health problems often associated with the
condition.
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