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The self‐harm inventory (SHI): Development of a scale for identifying self‐destructive behaviors and borderline personality disorder
Author(s) -
Sansone Randy A.,
Wiederman Michael W.,
Sansone Lori A.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-4679(199811)54:7<973::aid-jclp11>3.0.co;2-h
Subject(s) - borderline personality disorder , psychology , harm , context (archaeology) , personality , mental health , clinical psychology , psychiatry , outpatient clinic , personality disorders , self report study , medicine , social psychology , paleontology , biology
Intentional self‐harm behavior is an important clinical phenomenon that appears highly related to borderline personality disorder (BPD). Self‐harm behavior in the context of borderline personality probably exists along a continuum from graphic, self‐harm behavior to milder forms of self‐sabotaging behavior that might be viewed as self‐defeating. Relatively little attention has been paid to developing a self‐report measure of intentional self‐harm, particularly as a screening device for detecting BPD. In Study 1, an initial list of self‐harm behaviors encountered in clinical practice was narrowed to those behaviors related to BPD in a sample comprised of adults from both a mental health and non–mental health setting. All participants ( N = 221) underwent a semistructured diagnostic interview for BPD. Using a cut‐off score of 5 on the resulting 22‐item Self‐Harm Inventory (SHI), 83.7% of research participants were correctly classified as having BPD or not. In Study 2, women ( N = 285) sampled from an outpatient medical setting completed the SHI and a widely used self‐report measure of BPD. The SHI cut‐off score resulted in correct classification of 87.9% of the individuals. In Study 3, using a sample of adults involuntarily hospitalized for psychiatric reasons ( N = 32), the SHI performed at least as well as another self‐report measure of BPD in diagnosing participants (the final diagnosis was based on a semistructured interview). The results are discussed with regard to potential advantages and utility of the SHI and need for further validation. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Clin Psychol 54: 973–983, 1998.