The prevalence of self-harm and the relative emotional influences are well understood, but certain cognitive factors such as working memory, rumination, and self-criticism are not fully explored. The aim of the current study is to examine specific aspects of cognition to explore their influence on self-harming behaviors. Participants included 101 undergraduates from a British University. Factors were measured using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire, Ruminative Response Scale, and the Automated Working Memory Assessment. Findings indicated a greater incidence of self-harming behaviors among those who demonstrated higher depressive symptoms, but depression scores were not significantly related to self-harm. Additionally, a binary logistic regression indicated that self-criticism was associated with the presence of self-harming behavior, and a Classification and Regression Trees found that the single strongest predictor of self-harming behavior was a belief that love needs to be continually earned from others. Incorporating treatments that reduce self-criticism, such as improving self-compassion with Compassionate Mind Training, may address underlying mechanisms that trigger self-harm behavior.

There is a growing literature supporting the idea that those who engage in non-suicidal deliberate self-harm (DSH) have altered pain perception compared to individuals who do not. For example, individuals who report a history of non-suicidal DSH behavior have a decreased sensitivity to transient pain during laboratory-based pain induction (e.g., Glenn et al., 2014). Research suggests that brief manipulations targeting individual beliefs can affect performance on subsequent tasks, including measures of pain sensitivity. To date, however, no study has examined the effects of experimentally manipulated pain perception on DSH behavior. The Self-Aggression Paradigm (SAP: Berman & Walley, 2003; McCloskey & Berman, 2003) allows for the prospective observation of the effects of experimental manipulations on a laboratory analogue of DSH. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to determine if experimentally manipulated false feedback about pain tolerance affects DSH behavior during the SAP, thus potentially providing evidence for a causal linkage between pain perception and DSH. Eighty participants were randomly assigned to one of three feedback groups: High pain tolerance, low pain tolerance, and a control condition with neutral feedback provided after completing the SAP. Participants were provided false feedback regarding their pain tolerance after a pressure algometer task. It was predicted that participants in the high pain tolerance feedback groupwould have the highest DSH on the SAP, with DSH defined as the level of shock self-administered during a series of reaction-time trials. No significant group differences, however, emerged based on group assignment. Men engaged in more DSH than women during the study independent of feedback group assignment. A secondary aim of the current study was to provide further validation for the SAP using multiple pain induction modalities. Implications of the current findings and future research directions are discussed.

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Adolescent self-harm is a growing epidemic in the United States with thousands of adolescent children being treated in hospitals every year. Despite awareness that self-harm impacts the family unit, little attention has been given to the full impact that self-harm has on parents. Due to this lack of knowledge, counselor educators and supervisors are not equipped to train counselors to work with parents of self-harming adolescent children leaving counselors feeling unprepared to work with parents. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of parents who have self-harming adolescent children. Family systems theory was used to explore the concept that self-harm impacts the entire family system. The key research question for this study was: What are the lived experiences of parents of self-harming adolescent children? Six participants were interviewed using a semi structured design. The interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed using Pietkiweicz and Smith's 3 stage analysis process. Six main themes emerged from the data: (a) reaction to behavior, (b) change in self, (c) change in parenting style, (d) impact on relationships, (e) change in perception of mental health issues, and (f) support systems. The results of the study confirmed that parents have strong emotional responses to the self-harm and consequently adjusted their parenting styles. The outcomes of this study have the potential to impact positive social change by informing changes in counseling curriculum, training programs, and the level of support and services counselors provide when working with parents of a self-harming adolescent child.

<p>The area of research that was investigated for this study is self-harm, which is also known as non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). NSSI can be defined as self-injury with no intention of dying. Examples of NSSI are the cutting of one’s skin or banging one’s head against the wall to the point of bruising. Digital self-harm (DSH) can be defined as cyberbullying directed at oneself. DSH is an area within NSSI and self-harm that has not been extensively studied. However, its consequences have already been fatal; in 2013, a 14-year-old suicide in the United Kingdom was linked to DSH. In this case, DSH manifested itself by masking as cyberbullying, when instead it was the individual themselves who was behind the malicious comments. Research shows that there are several risk factors for NSSI, one of which includes borderline personality disorder (BPD). BPD is a type of personality disorder that consists of impulsive and volatile mood. A high percentage of individuals diagnosed with BPD have been found to engage in NSSI. The current study conducted an anonymous Internet survey that measured the following variables: engagement in NSSI, engagement in DSH, what types of NSSI/DSH were engaged in, personality traits, and interpersonal/intrapersonal functions for engaging in NSSI or DSH. The study revealed that among freshmen at a large, Midwestern university (<i>N</i> = 112), individuals who engaged in NSSI were significantly more likely to engage in DSH. The sample included 61 (55%) of students who self-reported engaging in NSSI and 17 (15%) of students who reported engaging in DSH. However, the study did not find that all BPD personality traits correlated with individuals who engaged in DSH. Personality facets and functioning were similar among DSH and NSSI. Differences were found in levels of reinforcement function between individuals who engaged in DSH and NSSI. These results suggested a relationship between DSH behavior and BPD features, as well as the use of maladaptive strategies for self-regulating emotion. The authors conclude that future research should investigate different types of DSH and encourages clinical practitioners to include online behavior questionnaires in their evaluations of at-risk adolescents.</p>

Any form of self harm can be triggering and hard for most people to be confronted with. Sexually risky behaviour and sex as self-injury among young people is no exception. This study aims to explore and analyse how social workers in the field of psychiatric care for young people in Sweden work with this group. For this study four interviews were conducted and analysed with systems theory.  To further deepen the studies result, a variation of literature has been included. The result of the study showed how dedicated social workers worked in interprofessional teams as well as with the youths families, in ordr to provide the youth with care suitable for their needs. The results from both the interviews as well as the literature reviewshow that although there is currently a need for more structured and evidence-based guidelines and work methods, it is a field where forward-looking research and great development are constantly present.

Bakgrund: Kvinnor med självskadebeteende skadar sig inte för att de vill ta livet av sig, utan för att lindra den psykiska smärtan och för att få kontroll över ångesten. Det är viktigt att vårdpersonalen ser hela människan och inte bara beteendet, kvinnor med självskadebeteende vill bli sedda och behandlade som alla andra patienter.  Syfte: Syftet var att beskriva kvinnors upplevelse av vården vid självskadebeteende. Metod: En kvalitativ studie gjordes utifrån en innebördsanalys. Fem självbiografier analyserades och bildade resultatet. Resultat: De fyra teman som återfinns i resultatet; att uppleva betydelsen av mötet mellan personal och kvinnor, att uppleva behandlingen som vårdande eller skadande, att uppleva betydelsen av att få bekräftelse vid vårdandet och att uppleva betydelsen av olika känslor vid vårdandet. Dessa teman visar att kvinnor med självskadebeteende vill bli sedda samt kunna känna en tillit till sjuksköterskor och annan vårdpersonal. Tid för samtal upplevs vara viktigt för att kvinnor ska få en bra vård. Slutsats: Kvinnors upplevelser är både positiva och negativa. Delaktighet och förklaringar kring självskadebeteendet och vårdandet upplevs vara viktigt för att få en god hälsa och en god vårdtid. / Background: Women with self-harm don’t cut themselves because they want to die, they do it to ease the psychic pain, and they get control over their angst. It is important that the nurses see the big picture in the person behind the self-harming behavior. Women with this behavior wants to be seen and treated like the other patients. Aim: Women’s experiences of health care in regards to self-harm. Methods: The study, was made with a qualitative meaning analysis. Five self-biographies where analyzed and became the results. Results: The four themes in the results; to experience the significance of the meeting between staff and women, to experience treatment as caring or damaged, to experience the importance of getting confirmation by caring and to experience the role of emotions in caring. These themes shows that the women wants to be seen and feel trust to the nurses and other professionals. Time and places for conversations are the women`s needs for having good treatment and care. Conclusion: Women’s experiences is positive and negative. Participation and explanation about their disease and treatment experience the woman as an important part of being able to feel good and to health care should be a good experience.

The aim of this study was to examine how professionals, in the field of social work, perceive and describes the phenomenon sex as a way to self-harm. By taking note of how professionals describes the meaning of the phenomenon and its function and examine their beliefs about gender differences, we wish to, with the help of selected theories, seek understanding of the phenomenon.   In our research for previous studies, we noticed the lack of scientific research, which made us curious about the phenomenon and wanted to seek for a better understanding. The study was conducted through a qualitative method based on a survey constituted by open questions. The survey was filled by different professionals that are working in the field of social work.   The conclusion of our study shows that the phenomenon is very complex and there are many different causes and aims to self-harm by using sex. The study also showed that the professionals that participated in this study had some beliefs about gender differences linked to the phenomenon.

This study sought to hear the narratives of individuals that have recovered from self-harming, with the intention of bearing witness to both the narratives and remaining scars in order to better understand and inform clinical practice. A purposive sample of seven individuals was recruited. Participants were asked to photograph their scars and bring them to an interview. Narratives were generated and explored through a relatively unstructured individual interview. Both the images and narratives were analysed using a narrative approach exploring content, performance and structural aspects, emphasising researcher reflexivity throughout. Findings were understood through psychoanalytic theory and highlighted a theme of validation and ‘being seen’, evidenced in stories of past invalidation that had been internalised into the self-structure and defended against by presenting a ‘defended’ self. Self-harm enabled this ‘unseen self’ to be expressed, validated and contained. Recovery was storied in terms of internalising experiences of validation, which enabled integration of the invalidated parts of the self. Many of the participants highlighted how their scars told a story of discovery; of becoming, coping and surviving. In the healing of scars this recovery is evident, but they may also continue to convey the unseen and unspoken experiences of pain, incoherence and invalidation. Self-harm and remaining scars may be understood as connecting, containing and re-embodying the internalised invalidation and ‘unseen’ aspects of the self. These findings are discussed with reference to the clinical implications, strengths and limitations of the methodology and directions for future research.

A b s t r a c t ZIMMERMANNOVÁ, Táňa. The Issue of Adolescent Self-harm in Comparism of Regular School and Facility for Kids with Behavioral Disorders. Praha: Hussite Theological Faculty, The Charles University, 2014. pp 80. Diploma Dissertation. The thesis is focused on the phenomenon of adolescent self-harm, concerning its prevalence among normal and problematic youth, and also the knowledge of professionals who work with youth. The research is divided in two parts. The first one maps the incidence of self-harm among pupils of a secondary school in comparison with clients of Facility for Kids with Behavioral Disorders in Chrudim and is processed using a standardized questionnaire called Self-Harm Invetory (SHI, 1998). The results show that there is nosignificant difference between normal and troubled youth in the prevalence of the risk behavior itself, but typically self-harm practices are already several times more prevalent among youth with behavioral disorders.It aims to find out whether it can be assumed that self-harm threatens only adolescents with special needs and if it is a marginal issue in general population. The second part of the research is focused on the discovery of knowledge and the basic skills of educators to intervene self-harm behavior among youth. For this reason, the knowledge of the...