Abstract
We examined the correspondence between reported reasons and consequences for a specific act of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), and their relationship with lifetime NSSI frequency. College students with a history of NSSI (n = 52) indicated reasons for and consequences from their most recent NSSI episode. A match was coded when a reason and its corresponding consequence(s) were both endorsed by the participant. Reasons and consequences were significantly correlated, but their correspondence was not related to lifetime NSSI frequency. Automatic negative reasons explained lifetime NSSI frequency, but consequences and match between reasons and consequences did not. Reported reasons for NSSI may be more important in understanding maintenance of NSSI than either consequences or match.
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Acknowledgments
The authors wish to acknowledge Zackie Salmon and Susan Stoddard from the University of Wyoming McNair Scholars program for their assistance on this project.
Conflict of interest
Pooja Saraff, Natasha Trujillo, and Carolyn Pepper declare they have no conflict of interest.
Ethical Standards
All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000 (5). Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.
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Saraff, P.D., Trujillo, N. & Pepper, C.M. Functions, Consequences, and Frequency of Non-suicidal Self-Injury. Psychiatr Q 86, 385–393 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-015-9338-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-015-9338-6