Measurement of nonsuicidal self injury in adolescents.

Abstract

The integration of standardized measures in the assessment of NSSI The potential role of standardized measures in treatment planning and practice The key components of a “gold standard” measurement tool The range and type and differences between standardized measures currently available The current evidence available on certain measures regarding reliability and validity How to contact those who have developed these measures of NSSIWith recent advances in the definition and understanding of the phenomenon of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) in adolescents, new opportunities have emerged for assessing and monitoring adolescent NSSI in a systematic fashion. The use of well-designed measures has many potential benefits. For example, it is a systematic, objective, time efficient, often cost-effective, and sometimes norm-referenced means of gathering a considerable amount of relevant information about an individual. Although self-report measures do bring the risk of response biases (e.g., social desirability), such biases might be reduced with the use of• •• •••structured interviews, which also hold the advantage of being systematic and objective modes of gathering information. There are various reasons why mental health professionals might want to measure adolescent NSSI.