Alexithymia, impulsiveness, and psychopathology in nonsuicidal self-injured adolescents.
BACKGROUND
Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a multifaceted phenomenon and a major health issue among adolescents. A better understanding of self-injury comorbidities is crucial to improve our ability to assess, treat, and prevent NSSI.


OBJECTIVE
This study aimed at analyzing some of the psychobehavioral correlates of NSSI: psychological problems, alexithymia, impulsiveness, and sociorelational aspects.


METHODS
This was a case-control study. The clinical sample (n=33) included adolescents attending our unit for NSSI and other issues; the controls (n=79) were high-school students. Data were collected using six questionnaires: Youth Self-Report, Barratt's Impulsiveness Scale, Toronto Alexithymia Scale, Children's Depression Inventory, Symptom Checklist-90-R, and Child Behavior Checklist.


RESULTS
Cases scored significantly higher in all questionnaires. Habitual self-injurers scored higher on impulsiveness and alexithymia. The gesture's repetition seems relevant to the global clinical picture: habitual self-injurers appear more likely to seek help from the sociosanitary services. We found a difference between the self-injurers' and their parents' awareness of the disorder.


CONCLUSIONS
Habitual self-injurers show signs of having difficulty with assessing the consequences of their actions (nonplanning impulsiveness) and the inability to manage their feelings. Given the significantly higher scores found for cases than for controls on all the psychopathological scales, NSSI can be seen as a cross-category psychiatric disorder, supporting the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders decision to include it as a pathological entity in its own right.
Childhood Adolescence Family Unit, Ulss 16 - Padua University, Padova, Italy.
Michela
M
Gatta
Childhood Adolescence Family Unit, Ulss 16 - Padua University, Padova, Italy.
Francesco
F
Dal Santo
Childhood Adolescence Family Unit, Ulss 16 - Padua University, Padova, Italy.
Alessio
A
Rago
Department of General Psychology, Padua University, Padova, Italy.
Andrea
A
Spoto
Childhood Adolescence Family Unit, Ulss 16 - Padua University, Padova, Italy.
Pier Antonio
PA
Battistella
NSSI; impulsivity; psychiatric comorbidity; self-cutting; self-harm; self-report
Psychiatry Res. 2014 Jan 30;215(1):111-9
24210667
Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health. 2012 Mar 30;6:10
22462815
J Adolesc. 2014 Aug;37(6):817-26
25086458
Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2013 Aug;22(8):501-10
23423221
Psychiatry Res. 2010 Jun 30;178(1):101-5
20444506
Psychiatry Res. 2009 Oct 30;169(3):261-7
19758706
Arch Suicide Res. 2011;15(1):56-67
21294000
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2007 Jul;161(7):641-9
17606826
Psychiatry Res. 2006 Sep 30;144(1):65-72
16887199
Lancet. 2012 Jun 23;379(9834):2373-82
22726518
J Psychiatr Res. 1997 Jul-Aug;31(4):451-65
9352472
Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2012 Sep;21(9):511-20
22722662
J Adolesc. 2011 Apr;34(2):337-47
20471075
Percept Mot Skills. 2002 Oct;95(2):621-35
12434861
J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2013 Aug;41(6):993-1004
23474798
Drug Alcohol Depend. 2005 Oct 1;80(1):15-22
16157228
J Adolesc. 2012 Jun;35(3):753-9
22189014
J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2014 Apr;55(4):337-48
24215434
Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2009;5:541-6
19898668
J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 2013;42(2):262-73
23009025
Int J Adolesc Med Health. 2006 Oct-Dec;18(4):597-614
17340851
J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2008 Jun;49(6):667-77
18341543
J Consult Clin Psychol. 2007 Oct;75(5):729-38
17907855
Personal Disord. 2010 Jan;1(1):67-75
22448604
Child Abuse Negl. 2004 Mar;28(3):339-54
15066350
Clin Psychol Rev. 2011 Aug;31(6):965-82
21733491
Eur Psychiatry. 2014 Oct;29(8):503-8
24725924
J Adolesc. 2005 Aug;28(4):573-87
16022890
J Clin Psychol. 1995 Nov;51(6):768-74
8778124
J Nerv Ment Dis. 2004 Dec;192(12):830-6
15583504
J Psychosom Res. 1996 Dec;41(6):551-9
9032718
Int J Methods Psychiatr Res. 2006;15(1):22-35
16676683
Annu Rev Clin Psychol. 2010;6:339-63
20192787
Psychol Med. 2007 Aug;37(8):1183-92
17349105
Rev Gen Psychol. 2009 Sep 1;13(3):219
20161656
Compr Psychiatry. 1996 Jan-Feb;37(1):12-6
8770520
Suicide Life Threat Behav. 2014 Jun;44(3):273-303
24422986
Eur Psychiatry. 2009 Jun;24(5):345-51
18789656
J Adolesc Health. 2009 May;44(5):464-7
19380094