Symbolism of tattoos as a sign of deviant behavior

Despite the fact that today tattooing has become a daily procedure, it must be recognized that this mode of expression is highly regarded from the point of view of psychiatric research as an important element of personality manifestation..

Symbolism of tattoos as a sign of deviant behavior

Tattoos are described and fixed along with clothing and scars in a so-called physical examination performed in a medical facility. Ultimately, the information obtained from the interpretation of tattoos on the subject’s body can significantly help in the diagnosis and description of the personality portrait..

The main meanings of permanent signs applied to the skin have formed over the past centuries:

– a sign of belonging (often religious) to a social group;

– expression of social status;

– a sign of social alienation (in this case, tags could be applied forcibly).

It was only a few decades ago that the tattoo received public recognition as a symbol of success or a bright personality. Experienced experts disagree about the seriousness of the relationship between tattoos and the possibility of deviant behavior, however, thanks to many studies, it has become clear that these components often have common premises..

For twenty years, psychiatric scientists headed by A.D. Borokhov conducted studies of patients with various mental disorders. Based on the research results, it was possible to draw up a certain taxonomy of tattoos and the possible reason for their application..

Antisocial disorder

People with dissocial personality disorder or sociopaths usually have multiple tattoos that are loaded with meaning. In half of the cases, the main message was a threat (the image of violence, weapons, etc.), the rest were tattoos with the meaning of social status in the criminal world or another social group and tattoos of a protest against the existing rules of content (images of symbols of freedom or cryptograms).

Hysterical disorder

With this ailment, in addition to all of the above, there was also a group of decorative or memorable-sentimental tattoos, which are a consequence of the inherent tendency for this disease to emotionally react to various events and exaggerate their significance. By the way, a large number of tattoos are imitative and indicate the desire to resemble a particular person..

Schizophrenic disorders

The main properties of images in schizophrenic spectrum disorders are the absence of obvious logic and interconnection, the presence of mystical elements, the extraordinary location and size of the tattoo. Unlike the previous type, tattoos of patients with schizophrenia are usually developed independently, having content that is understandable only to the wearer himself..

Substance user tattoos

Tattoos of drug addicts are almost always selected for a reason and reflect involvement in the drug addict subculture and a bright personal position. According to respondents who have disorders due to the use of psychotropic drugs, symbolic images facilitate the acquisition and sale of drugs, and also serve as a kind of pass in the society of drug addicts..

In addition, there are still a lot of tattoos applied due to other factors, but each of them should be considered separately, taking into account other features of the psyche..