Citation

Weintraub MJ, Van de Loo MM, Gitlin MJ, Miklowitz DJ. J. Nerv. Ment. Dis. 2017; 205(11): 896-899.

Affiliation

*Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida; and †Department of Psychiatry, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Semel Institute, Los Angeles, California.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/NMD.0000000000000744

PMID

29077652

Abstract

Self-harm refers to the purposeful destruction of bodily tissue without suicidal intention and for purposes that are not socially sanctioned. Little is known about the associations between a history of self-harm, mood symptoms, and functioning in adults with different types of mood disorders. Lifetime histories of self-harm, current mood symptoms, global functioning, and affective traits were collected on 142 adults with mood disorders. The prevalence of lifetime self-harm was higher in patients with bipolar disorder compared with patients with a unipolar depressive disorder. Self-harm was also more strongly linked to impulsivity in individuals with bipolar disorder compared with unipolar depressive disorder. Across both diagnoses, histories of self-harm were related to lower levels of current global functioning, more severe depressive symptoms, and high self-reported emotional dysregulation and neuroticism.

FINDINGS indicate that self-harm is a potent prognostic variable for symptoms, global functioning, and personality functioning in individuals with mood disorders.

Language: en