Clinical utility of proposed non-suicidal self-injury diagnosis—A pilot study

Abstract

In the forthcoming fifth revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), a new diagnosis is proposed: non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). To test its clinical utility in a pilot study, NSSI criteria were assessed in 39 young psychiatric outpatients with self-harm behavior. There were no differences between the NSSI (n = 18) and the non-NSSI (n = 21) groups concerning other diagnoses, including borderline personality disorder (BPD) (22% vs. 24%). However, NSSI patients had more suicidal behavior than non-NSSI patients. This pilot study indicates that the NSSI diagnosis is different from BPD, but it does not delimit suicidal behavior.

• Non-suicidal self-injury
• Psychiatry
• Self-harm
• Suicidal behavior

Acknowledgements

The authors express their special thanks to Kristina Klingesten for being part of the research team conducting the study, to Hans Arinell for his help with the statistical analyses, to Dorothy Fraser for linguistic help, and to Lena Knutsson-Medin for her assistance with the patient recruitment. This research was supported by the Söderström-Königska Foundation.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.