Self-restraint and self-injury: occurrence and motivational significance.
The occurrence of self-restraint was examined in a sample of 99 adults with severe or profound mental retardation who exhibited self-injury. Results showed that 46% of the sample exhibited self-restraint. A significantly higher occurrence of compulsive behaviors was found for subjects who engaged in self-injury and self-restraint when compared to self-injury subjects without self-restraint. To determine the motivational significance of self-restraint, we assessed the response to brief interruption of this behavior. Subjects who engaged in self-restraint responded more negatively to response interruption than did control subjects. These preliminary findings support the hypothesis that self-injury may be related to a compulsive behavior disorder in some individuals who self-restrain.
Powell
S B
SB
College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida, Gainesville 32610-0256, USA.
Bodfish
J W
JW
Parker
D
D
Crawford
T W
TW
Lewis
M H
MH
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety; D003192:Compulsive Behavior / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000150:complications*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D015995:Prevalence; D012149:Restraint, Physical / Q000523:psychology*; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology*