Research Study: Caffeine, Self-Injury, and Family of Origin Relationships
I want to ask a favor of all you loyal energy fiends.
A reader has requested that we help her out with a research project. You can read about the study below and if you have a few minutes follow the link to complete the on-line survey.
Feel free to post your comments on the topic below if you want.
Research Study on the Relationship Between Caffeine, Self-Injury, and Family-of-Origin Relationships
This study has been approved by the International Review Board at Alliant International University and is being conducted by Dr. Steven Jella and Cassandra Curtis
Anxiety and physical and emotional abuse have been shown to be prevalent among people who self-injure (including skin-picking and hair-pulling). People who self-injure are often found to have higher rates of anxiety than those who do not and research has shown that most people who self-injure have a diagnosable anxiety disorder. Research has also reported that people who self-injure have reported higher rates of physical and emotional abuse in childhood than those who do not.
Research on stressful early parent-child relationships has demonstrated increased sensitivity to anxiety in adulthood by way of altered dopaminergic and serotonergic systems, which are two neurological systems that caffeine acts upon. The study below aims to examine the relationships between caffeine, self-injury, and early family dynamics.
By participating in the study you may help contribute to society gaining a more holistic perspective of self-injury and in helping to develop more comprehensive treatment modalities for people dealing with self-injurious behavior.
Please click here to access the survey. All responses will be kept anonymous and confidential. Thank you for participating.
Update: 11/18/09 The study is now complete and the results will be posted soon.
5 Comments
Chris- I’ll check with them and make sure we get the heads up when it’s finished. I’ll do another post about it. Cheers!
Hi Chris,
Absolutely, you can be informed of the results once the study is complete. If you send me over your email address (questionreality7@aol.com) I will be sure to email you the results. Thank you for participating!
I’m not entirely sure that caffeine is the best analytical tool here, at least not in terms of the hypothesis you give above; describing caffeine as acting on NE and 5-HT systems seems a bit misleading, since the effects of caffeine are dramatically different from drugs that act just on NE/5-HT.
I can’t say the Church of Scientology, known for their virulently anti-drug and anti-psychiatry stance, is the most conflict free group of people to be involved in such a study either.
Allison,
You are right that the effects of caffeine are different from other drugs that act upon 5-HT systems (such as SSRIs). The above hypothesis mentions the 2 systems of SA and DA which are two systems that are boosted by caffeine consumption. I am not sure if you were confusing DA and NE? Since these two neurological systems are involved in the physiological mechanisms of anxiety it makes sense that caffeine might exacerbate the anxiety in certain individuals that may have supersensitive DA or SA systems. Also, I am not sure where you got the impression that we were affiliated with the Church of Scientology but just to clarify we are not affiliated with them. If you have anymore questions or concerns please feel free to email me at ccurtis@alliant.edu. Thank you!
i’m interested in the conclusions that are drawn from this study. is there a way we can be informed once the study is complete so we can read over it?