Deliberate Self-Harm

Abstract
It is now recognized that not all self-injurious behavior is suicidal, particularly within correctional settings. This class of behaviors is referred to by some authors as deliberate self-harm. The purpose of the present study was to investigate variables that have been described as distinguishing deliberate self-harm from other types of self-injurious behavior. The result suggested that (1) 50% of all prison inmates who injured themselves reported manipulation as their goal; (2) contrary to previous research results, deliberate self-harmers were older than suicidal subjects; (3) self-injurious subjects did not receive differential treatment with regard to length of hospitalization; (4) deliberate self-harmers were more frequently diagnosed as having a borderline personality disorder; (5) deliberate self-harmers more frequently had a history of self-injury than suicidal subjects; and (6) the type of self-injury, as defined, failed to distinguish deliberate self-harmers from others self-injurious subjects.

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