Diagnostic Division: Safety

Definition: Deliberate, self-injurious behavior causing tissue damage with the intent of causing nonfatal injury to attain relief of tension.

RELATED FACTORS
Adolescence; Peers who self-mutilate; Isolation from peers; Dissociation; Depersonalization; Psychotic state (e.g., command hallucinations); Character disorder; Borderline personality disorders; Emotionally disturbed; Developmentally delayed/autistic individuals; History of self-injurious behavior; History of inability to plan solutions/see long-term consequences; Childhood illness/surgery; Childhood sexual abuse; Battered child; Disturbed/unstable body image; Eating disorders; Inadequate coping; Perfectionism; Negative feelings (e.g., depression, rejection, self-hatred, separation anxiety, guilt); Low/unstable self-esteem; Poor communication between parent and adolescent; Lack of family confidante; Feels threatened with loss of significant relationship [e.g., loss of parent/parental relationship]; Disturbed interpersonal relationships; Use of manipulation to obtain nurturing relationship with others; Family alcoholism/divorce; Violence between parental figures; Family history of self-destructive behaviors; Living in nontraditional settings (e.g., foster, group, or institutional care); Incarceration; Inability to express tension verbally; Mounting tension that is intolerable; Needs quick reduction of stress; Irresistible urge to cut/damage self; Impulsivity; Labile behavior; Sexual identity crisis; Substance abuse

DEFINING CHARACTERISTICS

Subjective
Self-inflicted burns (e.g., eraser, cigarette); Ingestion/inhalation of harmful substances/objects

Objective
Cuts/scratches on body; Picking at wounds; Biting; Abrading; Severing; Insertion of object(s) into body orifice(s); Hitting; Constricting a body part