The Prevalence of Nonsuicidal Self-Injury and Different Subgroups of Self-Injurers in Chinese Adolescents

Abstract

Previous studies revealed a high prevalence of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) in western adolescents and suggested the existence of multiple self-injurer subgroups. This study examined the prevalence of NSSI among Hong Kong Chinese adolescents and compared different subgroups of self-injurers on several psychological correlates of NSSI related to borderline personality disorder. A total of 6,374 secondary school students (67.6% girls) completed self-report questionnaires. Multivariate analyses of variance and follow-up logistic regression analyses were used to compare differences between subgroups of self-injurers. Overall, 15% of adolescents reported engaging in NSSI. Gender differences varied regarding different self-injury methods. Repetitive self-injurers had more emotional and impulse-control problems than episodic ones. Severe NSSI adolescents were also more impulsive than mild NSSI adolescents. The frequency and severity of NSSI acted as two important dimensions in distinguishing between self-injurers. Clinical implications of these results are discussed.

Non-Suicidal Self-Injury in Swedish Adolescents : Prevalence, Characteristics, Functions and Associations With Childhood Adversities

“…In a population sample of 4,019 adolescents, Tolmunen et al (2008) showed that high levels of dissociation were independently associated with current self-cutting. Further support for the relationship between dissociation and NSSI has been found by You et al (2011), as well as for PTSD and NSSI .…”

“…Bresin and Gordon (2013b) suggested that NSSI is more common among girls in adolescent samples, but not in young adult college samples. On closer examination there would appear to be some support for gender difference when analyzing the choice of methods used, where girls are typically overrepresented when it comes to cutting (Garrison et al, 1993;Klonsky, 2011;Lundh et al, 2007;You et al, 2011) whereas boys more often report hitting/punching self, for example (You et al, 2011). Previously, NSSI was mostly estimated in psychiatric inpatient borderline samples, and BPD is more often diagnosed in females.…”

“…Several studies have shown NSSI to be more common in girls than boys (e.g., Howe -Martin, Murrell, & Guarnaccia, 2012;Laye-Gindhu & Schonert-Reichl, 2005;Nixon et al, 2008;Plener, Libal, Keller, et al, 2009;Wong, Stewart, Ho, & Lam, 2007;You et al, 2011;Zoroglu et al, 2003), with examples of rates of 20.3% vs. 8.5% (Laye-Gindhu & Schonert-Reichl, 2005), 24.3% vs. 8.4% and 45.2% vs. 38.1% . However, NSSI appears to be more prevalent in boys than has previously been estimated , and some studies have not found any gender differences in adolescents and young adults (Gratz et al, 2002;Hilt, Nock, et al, 2008;Muehlenkamp & Gutierrez, 2007;Swannell et al, 2014;Whitlock et al, 2006).…”

“…A single item question rendered a prevalence rate of 17% in a study measuring DSH, without differentiating on the basis of intent (Landstedt & Gillander Gådin, 2011). Internationally, prevalence rates of NSSI in community samples of adolescents usually range somewhere between 13-25% around the world (Baetens et al, 2011;Brunner et al, 2007;Brunner et al, 2014;Guan et al, 2012;Hankin & Abela, 2011;Jacobson & Gould, 2007;Laye-Gindhu & Schonert-Reichl, 2005;Martin, Swannell, Hazell, Harrison, & Taylor, 2010;Muehlenkamp & Gutierrez, 2004;Muehlenkamp, Williams, Gutierrez, & Claes, 2009;Nixon, Cloutier, & Jansson, 2008;Plener, Libal, Keller, et al, 2009;Plener et al, 2013;Tolmunen et al, 2008;You, Leung, Fu, & Lai, 2011;Zoroglu et al, 2003). However, both higher (Cerutti, Manca, Presaghi, & Gratz, 2011;Lloyd-Richardson et al, 2007;Lundh, Karim, & Quilisch, 2007;Yates, Carlson, & Egeland, 2008) and lower (Hilt, Nock, Lloyd-Richardson, & Prinstein, 2008;Patton et al, 2007;Prinstein et al, 2010) estimates have also been found, the latter sometimes due to younger samples.…”

O desempenho executivo em pacientes que apresentam automutilação

“…Hankin e Abela (2011) mencionam que a prevalência de automutilação entre pré-adolescentes varia entre 7,5% a 8%, e aumenta para 13% a 28% entre os adolescentes (Klonsky et al, 2003;Heath et al, 2009;You et al, 2011;Plener;Fegert, 2012;Rodav et al, 2014). Em adolescentes americanos, as taxas de prevalência de automutilação variam entre 14% a 46% (Nock;Prinstein, 2004;Lloyd-Richardson et al, 2007).…”