Piercing sensitive body parts, flashing violent tattoos and practicing self-mutilation may be causes for concern. If your teen has a pierced eyebrow or tongue, you might say, I noticed you re looking a little different these days. If the answer you get is, I did this because I like to feel the pain , take notice. The more deathlike the tattoo, and the more body piercings or piercings in the genitalia, the stronger the link. Cutting, or self-mutilation, can indicate a severe eating disorder like anorexia.
Researchers know that many teens pierce and tattoo themselves because it s the cool thing to do.
However, when they choose violence-related tattoos in visible spots on their body, like to get pierced because the pain makes them feel good, and continuously pierce themselves or have a friend do it to them, there may be a problem. By the way, the study points out that pierced noses and navels aren t usually indicative of a problem, while pierced tongues and genitals might be a good reason to have a serious talk with your teen.