Predicting the persistence of severe self-injurious behavior.
Information was collected on 95 people with mental retardation who had been identified seven years previously as showing severe self-injurious behavior. At follow up 71% of participants were still showing self-injurious behavior of a severity which presented a management problem for care staff. The occurrence of specific topographies of self-injury was extremely stable among the group showing persistent self-injury. Finally, self-injury status at follow-up was predicted with 76% accuracy by a logistic regression model containing three variables: site of injury (higher persistence being shown by people exhibiting head directed self-injury); reported (greater) stability of self-injury when first identified; and (younger) age.
Hester Adrian Research Centre, University of Manchester, England, UK. eric.emerson@lancaster.ac.uk
E
E
Emerson
C
C
Kiernan
A
A
Alborz
D
D
Reeves
H
H
Mason
R
R
Swarbrick
L
L
Mason
C
C
Hatton
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001521:Behavior Therapy; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D016896:Treatment Outcome