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A Method for Reporting Self‐Harm According to Level of Injury and Location on the Body
Author(s) -
Rosen Paul M.,
Heard Kenneth V.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
suicide and life‐threatening behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.544
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1943-278X
pISSN - 0363-0234
DOI - 10.1111/j.1943-278x.1995.tb00960.x
Subject(s) - harm , medicine , psychology , social psychology
Self‐mutilation occurs on a continuum from superficial to severe, yet previous studies have not differentiated these acts. This study, conducted over 4 years with emotionally disturbed adolescents, presents a method for reporting four levels of severity of self‐mutilation. A group of 32 subjects inflicted 128 self‐mutilations. Each wound was rated for level of injury and was mapped according to the location of the wound on the body. This method for reporting self‐mutilation was seen as an efficient and reliable procedure for describing the full continuum of self‐inflicted injuries. The term self‐harm was seen as a more accurate and useful description of these behaviors.