Vonderschmidt 1 Macy Vonderschmidt Mr.

Campbell English 1102 29 April 2014 The Science behind Nail Biting

For as long as I can remember I have been a horrible nail biter. I have tried on numerous occasions to kick the bad habit, but I just cannot seem to completely quit. Through out the years, I have stopped for periods of time and then I would start to do it again. It is not something I feel I have control over. Many times in my head I am telling myself to stop, however; I just keep biting my nails. Onychophagia or nail biting involves repeated biting of fingernails and cuticles. According to Wayne Fuqua and Shai Brosh, who are both registered psychologists and have written numerous articles on onychophagia, nail biting is especially high among adolescents, 44% of adolescents have a chronic nail-biting problem. Additionally, about 25% of adults bite their nails (Fuque & Brosh). Nail biting affects a good chunk of the population. People should be interested to know more about the reasons why people bite their nails because it could help them stop or provide them with some answers as to why they do bite their nails. Nail biting seems to not be as researched as other disorders, although many case studies have been performed on nail biters. If so many people have an issue fighting nail biting, is it really just a bad habit? Some say that nail biting could be considered a mental disorder, because just like having an addiction or obsessive-compulsive disorder, we are not able to control it. Carol Matthews, a psychiatrist at the University of California- San Diego, considers nail biters pathological groomers. She explains at first, a nail biter will realize they have a hangnail and want to bite it and they are aware they are doing this. However, after a while, the behavior becomes untriggered and it becomes an automatic behavior that has no relationship to external stimuli (qtd. In

Vonderschmidt 2 Standen). Amy Standen, a licensed psychologist, added her ideas by supporting Mathews theory. Standen believes nail biting is a lot like the mental disorder called obsessive compulsive. In both cases, they take a behavior that is normal and healthy and put it into overdrive and do it to a point of it being excessive. On the other hand, nail biting and OCD are quite different. Nail biters normally enjoy biting their nails because it feels good for them. People suffering from OCD, do not want to do the behavior but feel forced to (Standen). I can attest to this because I get a sense of accomplishment when I have bitten my nails to the perfect shape or length. However, biting your nails perfectly does not occur very often, which causes the behavior to happen over and over again. Nail biting is not included as a specific diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or DSM-5, which is the handbook used by health care professionals in the United States and much of the world as the authoritative guide to the diagnosis of mental disorders, but can be classified as a body focused repetitive behavior disorder (BFRBD) under the category other specified obsessive-compulsive and related disorder. Earlier I said that there are contrasting views on whether nail biting could be considered a mental disorder. Douglas Woods, a psychologist who performs case studies on people who have severe nail biting issues believes nail biting is indeed more than just a bad habit. Even though discussion of treatment for nail biting is absent from literature, several studies have demonstrated that behavior therapy (habit reversal training coupled with stimulus control interventions) is effective in reducing habit behaviors such as nail biting (Woods). However, in some cases, the nail biting has become too severe and none of the treatment plans seem to work. Woods suggests that normal nail biting is prevalent in a lot of people in society. But, when the nail biting becomes severe, that is when it can be considered an obsessive-compulsive related disorder.

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Is it possible for nail biting to be a genetic mutation? That question seems completely ridiculous, however, Francis Lee, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist at Weill Cornell Medical College has done a lot of research on this. Lee studied mice bred with a mutation that makes them feel like they need to groom themselves so much, they even give themselves bald spots. He found that people with OCD and also people who were nail biters could possibly have a genetic mutation. However, passing on this mutation is a risk of only 20%, which rules out an 80% chance that people acquire nail biting from a family member (Lee). On the other hand, children do learn by observing at a young age and if you bite your nails, there is a good chance that your children will as well. WebMD explains that people can indeed learn this behavior from a family member. I grew up watching my dad bite his nails, crack his knuckles, and chew the inside of his cheek. Lo and behold, I have every single one of those bad habits. Tracy Foose, a psychiatrist in San Francisco who specializes in anxiety disorders offered this opinion that people can start biting their nails from seeing someone else do it. At a young age, children learn by imitating (qtd. In Lee). One area that I find particularly interesting is nail biting and its correlation to college students. As most people know, college is an incredibly stressful time for most young adults and one way to deal with anxiety is biting your nails. James C. Coleman and Jean McCalley distributed a survey for college students regarding nail biting. They found that of the 1077 students, 30% of males bit their nails and 20% of females bit their nails. These are quite large percentages for a bad habit. Things like exams, sporting events, and social events caused their nail biting which correlates why they do it to anxiety. The study did show that nail biting decreases tremendously with age (Coleman & McCalley). One reason that was given to explain

Vonderschmidt 4 why men bite their nails more than women was social acceptance. In society, biting your nails is considered a dirty habit. This is exactly the reason I have tried to stop so many times. I do not like biting my nails in front of other people and when I see a girl doing it I think they are being unlady-like. However, when guys bite their nails it is not a big deal at all. The pressure girls feel to not bite their nails contributes to why more males have this bad habit. One common misconception about nail biting is that all people do it when they are nervous or are experiencing anxiety. I cannot count how many times I have been biting my nails and someone will ask me why I am nervous. I did not think that nail biting had to do with nerves, at least not in my case. Numerous studies have not been able to find a correlation between nail biting and anxiety levels (qtd. in Coleman & McCalley). Therefore, nail biting can occur for a number of reasons. Deardoff believes some of them include boredom, oral fixation, and the comfort of biting the nail. Nail biting is a common anxiety reliever. People may bite their nails in times of stress or excitement, or in time of boredom or inactivity. Nail biting is the most common of the anxiety habits. In my situation, I think I do it out of boredom. In class I find myself chewing on my nails as my professor is lecturing. On the other hand, when I am taking a really hard exam, I will also bite my nails. Sometimes people do not even realize they are biting their nails. In these cases, nail biting is just something to do to pass the time. Therefore, the reason you bite your nails has to do with each individual and it cannot be explained simply by one reason. So what does all this mean? Ahmad Ghanizadeh, a researcher for psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of California, attempts to clear up the matter. Nail biting is not a pathological condition in all times and all clients. However, it is not exactly clear where the border between the healthy and unhealthy behavior of nail biting is. Nail biting in healthy

Vonderschmidt 5 children is temporary, and does not last very long. The frequency, intensity and duration of pathological nail biting are higher than those in normal individuals. Uncertainties for the distinction of pathological and non-pathological nail biting are also reflected in the classification of psychiatric disorders. While some behavioral problems such as trichotillomania, which is the compulsive urge to pull out (and in some cases, eat) one's own hair leading to noticeable hair loss, distress, and social or functional impairment are classified as an impulse control disorder in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), nail biting is not classified in DSM-IV. Nail biting can also be classified as a self-injurious behavior such as pathological skin picking or as a stereotypic movement disorder. Others believe that nail biting is a part of obsessive-compulsive disorder spectrum. Although unsanitary, nail biting isn't likely to cause long-term nail damage. Nails are formed at the nail bed where the U-shaped cuticles begin. As long as the nail bed remains intact, nail biting isn't likely to interfere with fingernail growth. In fact, some research suggests that nail biting might even promote faster nail growth. Nail biting isn't without risks, however. For example, nail biting can: contribute to skin infections, aggravate existing conditions of the nail bed, and increase the risk of colds and other infections by encouraging the spread of germs from the nails and fingers to the lips and mouth. Another negative effect of nail biting could be dental problems. Lawrence Gibson, who is a doctor at Mayo Clinic since 1986 and is board certified in dermatology, dermatopathology and immunodermatology, explains teeth are not meant to be in constant use; however, nail biters are using them almost all of the time. This behavior wears down the teeth, possibly even in the shape that would be most convenient for biting nails. As a result, the teeth may need to be reconstructed for them to actually be able to do things like chewing and other normal behaviors teeth contribute to (Gibson).

Vonderschmidt 6 Although many people struggle with quitting nail biting, there are some ways that are suggested to kick the bad habit. WebMD suggests these treatments: coat your nails with a bittertasting nail biting polish, keep nails trimmed short, get regular manicures, use an alternate technique to manage your stress like yoga, meditation, deep breathing, or squeezing a stress ball to relax you and put a rubber band around your wrist and snap it whenever you get the urge to bite your nails. If the case is excessive, wear gloves or put self-adhesive bandages on the tips of your fingers so your nails won't be accessible to bite. Obviously there are many views on this matter. I have come to the conclusion that nail biting reasons are on a case-to-case basis. According to all my resources, there is no one answer for nail biting. Some people do it because it makes them feel comfortable and others have an unhealthy nail biting disorder that can lead to mental problems or even health related issues. Some research suggests many different reasons for why different people will bite their nails. I believe college aged people bite theirs because of the amount of stress we are under and children could bite theirs out of boredom or oral fixation. Although I have found an answer to my initial question, I have come up with several more questions regarding this topic that I feel may not be very researched yet. For example, why has no one come up with a tried and true treatment plan for nail biting? Or why is in not very researched when over half the population has experienced nail biting? Why do some people grow out of the habit, while others struggle their whole lives with it? While people of all ages bite their nails, only a small number of other adults bite their nails. Most people stop biting their nails on their own by age 30 (WebMD). I guess its good to know I will most likely be able to quit my bad habit in about another decade or so.

Vonderschmidt 7 Works Cited

Coleman, James , and Jean McCalley . "Nail Biting Among College Students ." Academic Search Complete . Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology , n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2014. Fuqua , Wayne , and Shai Brosh. "Nail Biting ." Academic Search Complete . N.p., n.d Web. 11 Feb. 2014. Ghanizadeh, Ahamd. "National Center for Biotechnology Information." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2014. Gibson, Lawrence . "Adult health." Nail biting: Does it cause long-term damage?. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. Standen, Amy . "Nail Biting: Mental Disorder or Just a Bad Habit?." NPR. NPR, 1 Oct. 2012. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. "WebMD - Better information. Better health.." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2014. Woods, Douglas. "Journal of Anxiety Disorders." Science Direct . N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.