title: The functions of deliberate self-injury: a review of the evidence.
abstract: Deliberate self-injury is defined as the intentional, direct injuring of body tissue without suicidal intent. The present article reviews the empirical research on the functions of self-injury. This literature includes self-reports of reasons for self-injuring, descriptions of the phenomenology of self-injury, and laboratory studies examining the effects of self-injury proxies on affect and physiological arousal. Results from 18 studies provide converging evidence for an affect-regulation function. Research indicates that: (a) acute negative affect precedes self-injury, (b) decreased negative affect and relief are present after self-injury, (c) self-injury is most often performed with intent to alleviate negative affect, and (d) negative affect and arousal are reduced by the performance of self-injury proxies in laboratory settings. Studies also provide strong support for a self-punishment function, and modest evidence for anti-dissociation, interpersonal-influence, anti-suicide, sensation-seeking, and interpersonal boundaries functions. The conceptual and empirical relationships among the different functions remain unclear. Future research should address the measurement, co-variation, clinical correlates, and treatment implications of different functions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-2500, United States. E.David.Klonsky@stonybrook.edu
authors.forename: E David
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Klonsky
mesh_terms: D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D001143:Arousal; D004213:Dissociative Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D005106:Exploratory Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D009042:Motivation; D011678:Punishment; D012652:Self Mutilation / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology