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Review
. 2020 Jan 10:16:101-112.
doi: 10.2147/NDT.S198806. eCollection 2020.

Nonsuicidal Self-Injury: Diagnostic Challenges And Current Perspectives

Jill M Hooley  1 , Kathryn R Fox  2 , Chelsea Boccagno  1
Affiliations
Review

Nonsuicidal Self-Injury: Diagnostic Challenges And Current Perspectives

Jill M Hooley et al. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. .

Abstract

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) involves deliberate and intentional injury to body tissue that occurs in the absence of suicidal intent. Typical examples here might include self-cutting, burning, or self-hitting. Behavior of this kind is fundamentally unsettling as well as perplexing. It is also the case that self-harming behavior of any kind runs counter to a fundamental survival instinct. In the past, behaviors such as these were viewed as self-mutilation and considered to be a form of attenuated suicide. Much has changed over time, culminating in the entry of NSSI Disorder into DSM-5 as a condition in need of further study. In this review we describe the evolution of the NSSI construct and consider current issues in its diagnosis and assessment.

Keywords: DSM-5; NSSI disorder; diagnosis; nonsuicidal self-injury; NSSI; self-harm; suicide.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

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