Brief report: nonsuicidal self-injury in adolescence: turning to the Internet for support

Abstract

Research has highlighted the salience of online activity involving nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) among adolescents who self-injure. Most research in this area has been descriptive in nature, however, little is known about the precise activities by these youth and whether this varies by NSSI frequency. Thus, the present study examined the frequency of Internet site use for emotional health reasons and the specific online activities for emotional health reasons among adolescents who reported recent, past and no engagement in NSSI. One hundred and forty-two adolescents (Mage = 14.43, SD = .57; 64.1% female) completed a series of questionnaires to assess NSSI status and online activity. The findings revealed an interesting pattern of Internet use among adolescents who recently engaged in NSSI indicative of connecting (sharing and getting support) online, in contrast to those with a past history of self-injury who reported online activity more similar to those with no history of self-injury. Research and clinical implications are discussed.

Keywords:

• Nonsuicidal self-injury
• adolescence
• Internet
• online activity
• emotional health