NSSI compared to addiction by NIDA researchers

Abstract

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is comparing addiction to non‐suicidal self‐injury (NSSI). A study by NIDA researchers is based not on clinical work but an analysis of the words used by posters on Reddit, and uses the phrase “non‐suicidal self‐harm” instead of NSSI because that is the name of the Reddit group. Because many posters used language that indicate self‐injury shares characteristics with addiction — “craving” and calling their cutting or other self‐harm an “addiction” and talking about getting “clean,” for example — the researchers correctly assessed that the criteria used to diagnose substance use disorder (SUD) and non‐suicidal self‐harm, could, theoretically, be similar. However, the study, published in the Journal of Behavioral Addictions, suggests that people with non‐suicidal self‐harm could be treated by the same methods used to treat addiction. “Non‐suicidal self‐injury is often private and hidden, and like substance use disorders, is highly stigmatized and can lead to significant harm if left undiagnosed and untreated,” said NIDA Director Nora Volkow, M.D., in a statement accompanying the release of the journal article. “Though this study alone does not demonstrate that self‐injury can necessarily be classified as an addiction, learning more about the addictive‐like behaviors of self‐harm will be crucial to improve our understanding and treatment of this condition.” Approximately 17% of adolescents (and 6% of adults) engage in non‐suicidal self‐harm.