ABSTRACT
Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) refers to an intentional, self-effected, socially unacceptable form of deliberate bodily harm in the absence of suicidal intent (Miller & Brock, 2010; Walsh, 2006). A puzzling, disturbing, and to many an inexplicable behavior, NSSI is prevalent in all cultures and across all socioeconomic levels (Lieberman & Poland, 2006; Nock, 2009). Although the first recorded account of NSSI occurred over 2,400 years ago (Favazza, 1998), it has only been in recent decades that it has been recognized as a serious mental health problem, particularly among young people. The most common form of NSSI appears to be skin cutting (Klonsky & Muehlenkamp, 2007), and those individuals who engage in it typically cut on their forearms, although it is not restricted to that area (Nixon & Heath, 2009a). NSSI may also take other forms, including severe skin scratching, picking at wounds, burning, or inserting objects into the body (D'Onofrio, 2007). Previously referred to by a number of descriptors, the term nonsuicidal self-injury, or NSSI, is currently the most widely used and accepted designation and will therefore be the term used throughout this chapter. Use of the term “self-mutilation,” previously the most common descriptor for this condition (Lieberman & Poland, 2006), has been discouraged given that it is “too extreme, pejorative, and ultimately inaccurate” (Miller & Brock, 2010, p. 1).
