Informing the Design of Intervention Solutions for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors

Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRBs), such as nail biting, impact a wide demographic, and can negatively affect physical, psychological, and social well-being. Although pharmacological and behavioral therapies are common treatments, many avoid seeking help, and not everyone responds fully to treatment. Recent advances in wearable sensing enable new digital solutions that can detect BFRB episodes and intervene to mitigate them. While BFRBs have been extensively studied in medical research, translating this knowledge into effective digital intervention solutions may not be straightforward, and the end user’s perspective may be overlooked. We report a user study with 12 frequent nail biters, who shared their experiences about nail biting and expectations of intervention solutions in semi-structured qualitative interviews. We describe the progression of a nail biting episode from a nail biter's perspective and present a taxonomy of intervention strategies to mitigate nail biting. Our results inform the design of future digital BFRB intervention solutions.