Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
ARTICLESAffect Regulation and Addictive Aspects of Repetitive Self-Injury in Hospitalized Adolescents
Section snippets
Participants
Between March and June 2000, all adolescents (aged 12–18 years) who were admitted or were participating in the inpatient and acute youth partial hospitalization programs at a large urban tertiary-care teaching hospital (Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario) were screened by staff for recent SIB. The 16-bed inpatient unit includes an acute assessment service and treatment program, accepting admissions primarily through the emergency service. The acute youth partial hospitalization program
Sample Characteristics
Over the 4-month study period, 130 patients were screened and 50 completed the questionnaires. Eight were excluded from further analyses because of the infrequency of their SIB. Two females had not self-injured at all in the past 6 months, and six females had injured only once or twice in the past 6 months. In all, 27 (29.7%) of 91 inpatients and 15 (38.5%) of 39 partial-hospitalization patients, or 84% (n = 42/50) of the injuring sample, met our criteria for repetitive SIB. A cross-tabulation
DISCUSSION
Approximately one third of this inpatient and partial hospitalization sample had a repetitive form of SIB, with more than 80% self-injuring at least once a week during the previous 6 months. The frequency of urges to self-injure indicates a significant preoccupation with the behavior, despite associated feelings of shame, guilt, and disappointment. The predominance of depressive symptoms in our sample is similar to that of Ghaziuddin et al. (1992) and Darche (1990), whereas DiClemente et al.
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Correspondence to Dr. Nixon, Mental Health Patient Service Unit, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, 401 Smyth Road, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1H 8L1; e-mail: [email protected].
DOI: 10.1097/01.CHI.0000024844.60748.C6