Self-injury

Scientific studies suggest that 25-35% of primates kept in laboratories engage in self-injury. Among monkeys, males are more likely to injure themselves than females. Risk factors for self-injury include:

1) separation from the mother before 18 months of age , i.e. slightly beyond the natural age of weaning in macaques.
2) the age at which an individual was first placed in solitary housing
3) the amount of time spent in solitary housing
4) duration in captivity
5) the frequency and intensity of experimental procedures, including blood draws

A study released today suggested that self-injury is relatively common at two Ivy League schools - roughly 17%. For humans, females were more likely that males to self-injure. Furthermore, some proportion of students who reported self-injury also reported seeking medical attention for their injuries (7%).

Self-injury is prevalent among college students, survey shows

In humans, self-injury was considered to be the result of fewer available coping mechanisms and an increase in stressful situations.

The risk factors for non-human primates could be considered analogous, in that they represent experiences that negatively impact coping ability or the powerful stressors. Captivity represents both a stressor and a constraint on coping, for example.

In the case of human and non-human primates, self-injury is a pathology that warrants immediate treatment, particularly because it is progressive and resistant to treatment in extreme forms.