Self-injurious behaviors (SIBs), sometimes referred to as self-directed violence, occur when an individual engages in behaviors that harm oneself, such as nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicidal behaviors
psychology
Description
Self-injurious behaviors (SIBs), sometimes referred to as self-directed violence, occur when an individual engages in behaviors that harm oneself, such as nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicidal behaviors (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015; Hamza, Stewart, & Willoughby, 2012). Although both NSSI and suicidal behaviors are considered SIBs, they are distinctly different. By definition, NSSI is intentional bodily harm that causes immediate tissue damage without the individual having the intent to die (Ross & Heath, 2002). Suicidal behaviors, however, have been defined as behaviors that may or may not have a nonfatal outcome, but for which there is evidence that the person intended at some level to kill him- or herself (O’Carroll, Berman, Maris & Moscicki, 1996) or desired to give the appearance of a wanting to kill him- or herself (Nock & Kessler, 2006). Both suicidal behaviors and NSSI have an onset in adolescence, with NSSI having an earlier onset than suicidal behaviors (Darke, Torok, Kaye, & Ross, 2010).
NSSI and suicidal behaviors overlap, such that 10% to 37%
of people who engaged in NSSI also attempted suicide at some
point in their lives (Asarnow et al., 2011; Glenn & Klonsky,
2009; Hilt, Nock, Lloyd-Richardson, & Prinstein, 2008; Nock,
Joiner, Gordon, Lloyd-Richardson, & Prinstein, 2006; Wilcox
et al., 2011). Stanley, Winchell, Molcho, Simeon, and Stanley
(1992) suggested that NSSI and suicide exist on a continuum,
with NSSI being a gateway to engagement in suicidal behavior or
being a tool that desensitizes an individual to self-harm, thereby
increasing his or her acquired capability to attempt suicide
(Joiner, 2005). Hamza et al. (2012) combined these theoretical ideas and developed the integrated model, which indicates that
it is the combination of NSSI engagement and severity (e.g.,
frequency, methods used) and a third variable (e.g., familial
factors, diagnoses) that would lead a person to suicidal behavior.
