Significance and Medical Classification of Nailbiting

Abstract

A careful study of the nailbiting literature has revealed the need for a thorough review that encompasses and systematically presents the theoretical considerations and treatment formulations of a number of researchers. To date, no such compendium is available. Early theorists presented their views on the etiology of nailbiting primarily within a psychodynamic framework and often without an empirical data base. In contrast, many published reports of contemporary empirical investigations dealing with the treatment of nailbiting behavior lack a theoretically based discussion. This, however, may be due to the difficulty in translating the early theoretical models into therapeutic procedures. This monograph is an attempt to delineate a number of salient issues pertinent to the study of nailbiting, to clearly describe and synthesize the theories that have been presented to date in the literature, and to discuss various treatments for nailbiting.