Drifts of the adolescent psychopathology in virtual environments: disembodied bodies, symptomatic identities, narratives of groups

In the interpretation of contemporary psychopathology, considering the link among different factors, that go from biological to inter- subjective dimensions, the role of the cultural contest appears relevant. The process of meaning making of adolescents discomfort assumes nowadays specific configurations intovirtual environments. We focus our contribution on e-communities that have built up on the basis of a collective identity through shared symptoms of attacks on body, Anorexia (Harshbarger et al., 2009; Hammersley and Treseder, 2007), Non-suicidal self-injury (Lewis and Michal, 2016; Whitlock et al., 2006). These groupsmay be used as an alternative and in opposition to clinical or therapeutic contexts (Brotsky and Giles, 2007), creating relational dynamics either harmful or helpful. We performed a cluster analysis to compare 40 Italian blogs, anorexia blogs (Pro-Ana) and Self-injury blogs, to find dimensions of meaning and themes. The text was analyzed through the software T-Lab (Lancia, 2004). Four thematic clusters, which, after interpretation using factorial mapping fall into three sense vectors, emerged. Blogs significantly differ in terms of content and function: Pro-Ana blogs tend to reinforce the symptomatic identity, a propagandist portrayal of anorexia as a lifestyle choice that leaves little space for outsiders, whereas Self-injury blogs reveal aspects of relationship building and emotional support, proving ambivalent in their attitude towards discomfort. Some implications of this analysis for clinical practice will be discussed even with the aim of thinking of a kind of assessment for adolescents on the internet mediated relationships they have.