Characteristics of 60 Adult Chronic Hair Pullers
March 1991
in “
American Journal of Psychiatry
”
TLDR Most adult chronic hair pullers are women who started in their early teens, often have other mental health issues, and may pull hair due to underlying psychiatric conditions.
In 1991, a study involving 60 adult chronic hair pullers found that the average participant was a 34-year-old woman who had been pulling hair for 21 years from multiple sites. The study revealed that hair pulling typically began in the early teens and was more prevalent in females, with a 15:1 female-to-male ratio. While all participants experienced tension before or relief after hair pulling, 17% did not meet the DSM-III-R criteria for trichotillomania. There was a high rate of psychiatric comorbidity, with 82% having other axis I diagnoses, 65% with mood disorders, 57% with anxiety disorders, 20% with eating disorders, and 22% with substance use disorders. The findings suggested that trichotillomania might be a variant of depression or a symptom of other psychiatric illnesses, highlighting the disorder's chronic nature, commonality, and the need for further research into its characteristics and treatment.
