The motivations for self-injury in psychiatric inpatients

NONSUICIDAL self-injurious behavior (SIB) occurs in both culturally appropr iate and culturally inappropriate forms. It is one of the diagnostic criter ia for borderline personality disorder, but it occurs in several psychiatri c and neurological populations. The personal intent of SIB in psychiatric p opulations is incompletely understood. A self-report scale (Self-Injury Mot ivation Scale; SIMS) to assess motivation for self-injury was developed. Re lationships among motivation for SIB, characteristics of SIB, and psychopat hology were explored. A semistructured interview and the SIMS, Dissociative Experiences Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, Davidson Trauma Scale, and M illon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-II were given to 99 consecutively admit ted inpatients. The SIMS had good reliability and validity. A high SIMS sco re suggested distinct psychopathology. Several factors on the SIMS differen tiated motivations for SIB. Patients with different SIMS factor profiles ha d different psychopathology.