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The Role of seeing blood in non‐suicidal self‐injury
Author(s) -
Glenn Catherine R.,
Klonsky E. David
Publication year - 2010
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/jclp.20661
Subject(s) - psychology , intrapersonal communication , borderline personality disorder , bulimia nervosa , clinical psychology , population , personality , self destructive behavior , injury prevention , affect (linguistics) , psychiatry , poison control , developmental psychology , eating disorders , medicine , medical emergency , social psychology , interpersonal communication , environmental health , communication
Non‐suicidal self‐injury (NSSI) is a growing clinical problem, especially among adolescents and young adults. Anecdotal accounts, clinical reports, and popular media sources suggest that observing the blood resulting from NSSI often plays an important role in the behavior's reinforcement. However, research to date has not systematically assessed the role of blood in NSSI. The current study examined this phenomenon in 64 young adults from a college population with histories of non‐suicidal skin‐cutting. Approximately half the participants reported it was important to see blood during NSSI. These individuals reported spending five minutes or less looking at the blood after each instance of NSSI, and that seeing blood served several functions including “to relieve tension” and “makes me feel calm.” In addition, wanting to see blood was associated with greater lifetime frequency of skin‐cutting and greater endorsement of intrapersonal functions for NSSI (e.g., affect regulation, self‐punishment). Finally, participants who reported wanting to see blood were more likely to endorse symptoms of bulimia nervosa and borderline personality disorder. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 66: 1–8, 2010.