Theories on the Cause of Nailbiting

Abstract

The role of anxiety in the etiology of nailbiting has been documented in the literature. In commenting on the consensus of evidence concerning the relation of nailbiting to tense emotional situations, Massler and Malone (1950) stated that the adage that persons under tension ‘bite their nails’ seems to be true” (p. 526). Tyron (cited in Pierce, 1975) acknowledged the possible tension-reducing function of nailbiting under conditions of boredom or anxiety. The nonsymptomatic nature of nailbiting is stressed in his statement, “the habit is often present in persons in whom there is no obvious emotional disturbance” (Tyron, cited in Pierce, 1975, p. 2126). Pierce also concurred with the tension-nailbiting hypothesis on the assumption that nailbiting is thought to be “the result of regression to oral satisfactions when the person is placed under the duress of tension or fatigue” (p. 2126).