Function and progression of non-suicidal self-injury and relationship with suicide attempts: A qualitative investigation with an adolescent clinical sample
Abstract
Aim To investigate the function and progression of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and its relationship with suicide attempts. Method Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with 15 adolescents psychiatrically hospitalized following a suicide attempt who reported NSSI. Applied thematic analysis was used to identify and examine themes from the interview data. Results Thematic analysis revealed that the primary function of NSSI was relief from emotional pain, though the function often changed over time. NSSI was often not directly related to patients' suicide attempts, yet risk of suicidal behavior seemed to increase once NSSI lost its effectiveness, and suicide became the only option. Conclusion Clinicians need to understand and monitor the functions of NSSI, and its relationship with suicidality, to prevent suicide attempts among adolescents.
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Most patients with NSSI adopt self-injury behavior to regulate negative emotions and self-punishment.
“Most patients with NSSI adopt self‐injury behavior to regulate negative emotions and self‐punishment (Taliaferro et al., 2019).”
From Relationship among self-injury, experiential avoidance, cognitive fusion, anxiety, and depression in Chinese adolescent patients with nonsuicidal self-injury (2021) · cites this paper as Taliaferro et al., 2019
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- Authors
- Taliaferro, L. A., Almeida, J., Aguinaldo, L. D., & McManama O’Brien, K. H.
- Affiliations
- University of Central Florida (US)
- Simmons University (US)
- Brown University (US)
- Department of Health Promotion, Practice, and Innovation, Education Development Center, USA
- Corresponding author
- Taliaferro, Lindsay A
- Venue
- Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2019-07-17
- Volume
- 24
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 821-830
- ISSN
- 1359-1045 (ISSN-L)
- 1461-7021
- OpenAlex
- W2963471858
- Cited by
- 21
- References
- 35
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 5 · 2021: 2 · 2019: 1
- FWCI
- 0.88
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- simmons college
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Homicide, Infanticide, and Child Abuse
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Disorders and Psychopathology
- Keywords
- non-suicidal self-injury, suicide attempts, adolescents, suicidality, suicide prevention, psychiatric hospitalization
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adolescent Behavior, Female, Hospitalization, Humans, Male, Suicide, Attempted, Self-Injurious Behavior, Disease Progression, Qualitative Research
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