Treatment of self injurious behavior and quality of life for persons with mental retardation

Self-injurious behavior (SIB) is a highly problematic and damaging behavior with profound implications for a person's quality of life. Despite numerou s reports documenting changes in self-injury, it is not well-known how thes e changes relate to systematic improvements in quality of life. We surveyed 41 journals from 1978 to 1996 to identify use of quality of life outcome m easures following self-injury treatment. A sample of 138 research articles involving 436 subjects with self-injury was reviewed. Forty articles (29%) were found that contained some quality of life measure. Very little detaile d information was available concerning the specific nature of change in lif e-style based on immediate changes in SIE. This lack of information and its possible implications are discussed.