@article{ref1,
title="The functions of deliberate self-injury: A review of the evidence",
journal="Clinical psychology review",
year="2007",
author="Klonsky, E. David",
volume="27",
number="2",
pages="226-239",
abstract="Deliberate self-injury is defined as the intentional, direct injuring of body tissue without suicidal intent. The present article reviews the empirical research on the functions of self-injury. This literature includes self-reports of reasons for self-injuring, descriptions of the phenomenology of self-injury, and laboratory studies examining the effects of self-injury proxies on affect and physiological arousal. Results from 18 studies provide converging evidence for an affect-regulation function. Research indicates that: (a) acute negative affect precedes self-injury, (b) decreased negative affect and relief are present after self-injury, (c) self-injury is most often performed with intent to alleviate negative affect, and (d) negative affect and arousal are reduced by the performance of self-injury proxies in laboratory settings. Studies also provide strong support for a self-punishment function, and modest evidence for anti-dissociation, interpersonal-influence, anti-suicide, sensation-seeking, and interpersonal boundaries functions. The conceptual and empirical relationships among the different functions remain unclear. Future research should address the measurement, co-variation, clinical correlates, and treatment implications of different functions.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0272-7358",
doi="10.1016/j.cpr.2006.08.002",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2006.08.002"
}