Association of childhood abuse and neglect with tattoos and piercings

That's pretty weird, because just a couple of days ago I thought to myself that this exact connection surely exists.

It was just an observation about myself and many people who I know well enough to make a judgement about that particular thing.

You can probably correlate a dozen more things with childhood abuse.

Alcohol and substance abuse, academic underachievement, depression, chronic illness, incarceration, accident proneness, anxiety...

Some psychologist whose name I can't remember once said that if childhood trauma was understood correctly, the DSM-5 would shrink to the size of a small pamphlet, because 95% of all mental illness is merely a symptom of childhood abuse or neglect.

Especially the effects of emotional abuse are grossly underestimated in western society. We are so entrenched in it that we can't see it anymore. Like fish don't see water.

Given that tattoos and piercings are often an expression of bodily autonomy and self-expression, I don't find it too shocking that people who've experienced abuse (and often lack of those very things as part of it) would gravitate to it.

I don't have an association of tattoos with abuse, but I certainly do with crime.

Tattoos are so common now that I have to consciously tell myself to ignore my association, but it's not something that will go away.

Anecdotally in support of the article a friend of mine was a model and obtained what I can only describe as hideous tattoos all over her body that forced her out of modeling. She was indeed in a highly abusive relationship even by law enforcement standards. I'm happy that she escaped that mess but now has a tattoo head to toe to remind her of it.

There are some places that this theory probably breaks down in some way? For example everyone on "The Max" in Portland Oregon knew I was not from there for a lack of tats. There are some parts of Mississippi that people without tats will also stand out. Most of the places I can think of where I saw more tats than not were places of poverty, highly artistic people, very socially liberal. Most of these places also had lot of biker bars, night clubs, good music and good food.

Self-esteem and self-mutilation often go hand in hand. Don't like yourself, then find a way to change yourself so you can move on mentally. Workout, learn, create, etc. Those that have nothing but the skin on their flesh get tattoos. Those who have tried all they can think about then mutilate themselves a bit more with piercings, and more than that it's just general depressiveness and a downward spiral. To do a shody parallel, pilots in downward spirals can recover, by identifying the situation, and providing input to counter the movement, I think bodies and minds are a bit like that, so don't give up, find out what's bringing you down and counter it until you soar above the clouds.