Abstract
Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is described as behaviors that directly and intentionally inflict damage to body tissue without suicidal intent and for reasons not linked to cultural expectations or norms. Literature has confirmed several “specific risk factors” related to NSSI behaviors; emotional reactivity, internalizing problems, alexithymia traits, and maladaptive family functioning can predispose an individual to intrapersonal and interpersonal vulnerabilities related to difficulties in regulating one’s own cognitive-emotional experience. The present study aims to analyze and define the psychopathological and family interactive-relational characteristics of adolescents with NSSI through a case-control study. Thirty-one patients with NSSI and thirty-one patients without NSSI paired for sex, age, and psychiatric diagnosis (ICD-10) were recruited in Padua among two Child Neuropsychiatry Units before the COVID-19 pandemic. Results show a higher prevalence of internalizing problems, alexithymia trait related to “difficulty identifying feelings”, and lower quality of family functioning related to inclusion of partners, child involvement, and child self-regulation. These results carry significant implications for the clinical management and therapeutic care of non-suicidal self-injury patients and further confirm the need for an in-depth investigation of internalizing problems, alexithymia, and quality of family interactions.
Highlights
Received: 9 December 2021Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is described as “directly and intentionally inflicting damage to one’s own body tissue without clear suicidal intent and for reasons that are not consistent with cultural expectations or norms” [1]
A meta-analysis by Swannell et al [3] has shown that the worldwide lifetime prevalence of NSSI in a community sample of adolescents is 17.2%; this rate significantly increases in clinical samples, with a prevalence of 40% or more among adolescents with psychiatric impairment [4]
The present study aims to analyze and define the psychopathological and family interactive-relational characteristics related to non-suicidal self-injury through a casecontrol study using a multi-method approach
Summary
Received: 9 December 2021Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is described as “directly and intentionally inflicting damage to one’s own body tissue without clear suicidal intent and for reasons that are not consistent with cultural expectations or norms” [1]. Several reviews have identified a high prevalence of NSSI in adolescence [2]. NSSI episodes in adolescence are often repeated, among those who self-harm by cutting; more than 55% do so more than once [8] and may occur in single or multiple (≥4/year) episodes, revealing habitual and non-habitual patterns of self-injury [9]. Emotional reactivity, a history of abuse, and family functioning, can predispose an individual to the risk of intrapersonal and interpersonal vulnerabilities related to difficulties in regulating one’s own cognitive-emotional experience and to the risk of facing social problems [1]. In this context, NSSI acquires the function of regulating these experiences. Individuals may engage in NSSI due to “specific risk factors”, namely, Accepted: 21 February 2022
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