Physical and Psychological Correlates of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury in Students

Mansouri, Ahmad; Joqratian, Danial; Elahi, Armin

doi:10.30473/hpj.2025.69651.5952

Document Type : Scientific Research

Authors

¹ Department of Psychology, Neyshabur Branch, Islamic Azad University, Neyshabur, Iran

² 1. Department of Psychology, Neyshabur Branch, Islamic Azad University, Neyshabur, Iran.

³ Department of Psychology, Neyshabur Branch, Islamic Azad University, Neyshabur, Iran.

https://doi.org/10.30473/hpj.2025.69651.5952

Abstract

Objective: Non-suicidal self-injury refers to the intentional self-inflicted damage to the body surface without suicidal intent. This behavior is one of the major concerns of mental health professionals in the world and is also one of the disorders that needs more study. Many biological, psychological and social factors can be related to this behavior. However less attention has been paid to physical and psychological factors related to it. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to investigate the physical and psychological correlates of non-suicidal self-injury in students. Method: This study is fundamental in terms of purpose and descriptive-correlation in terms of method. Its statistical population of this research included all the undergraduate and graduate students of the Islamic Azad University of Neyshabur branch in the academic year of 2023. A number of 200 students who were selected by convenience sampling method formed the research sample. To collect data, deliberate self-harm inventory (Gratz, 2001), body mass index, dysmorphic concerns questionnaire (Oosthuizen, Lambert & Castle, 1998) and body image shame scale (Duarte, Pinto-Gouveia, Ferreira et al., 2015) were used. Data were analyzed by Pearson correlation, stepwise regression analysis and significance level of 0.05. Results: The mean and standard deviation of the participants' age was 25.08 and 8.39. The results showed that there are significant positive relationship between dysmorphic concern and body shame and its components (externalized and internalized shame) with non-suicidal self-injury (p < 0.01), but there is no significant relationship between weight and body mass index with non-suicidal self-injury (p <0.05). The results of stepwise regression analysis showed that weight, body mass index, dysmorphic concern and internal shame do not predict (p >0.05), but external shame predicts it (p <0.05). In other word, external shame alone explains 14% of the variance of non-suicidal self-injury. Conclusion: The results of the present study show the role and importance of psychological factors such as dysmorphic concern and body shame in non-suicidal self-injury. The psychological factors, especially external shame plays a more important role in predicting this behavior. Paying attention to this factor or perception of negative judgments about the self in the mind of others can be important in developing pathological, educational and therapeutic models. On the other hand, use of therapies that emphasize the construct of shame (compassion therapy or compassion-focused therapy) may play an important role in reducing this type of shame and subsequently reducing non-suicidal self-injury. Future researches can investigate the effectiveness of such therapeutic and educational approaches on non-suicidal self-injury.

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Main Subjects

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Physical and Psychological Correlates of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury in Students

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Volume 13, Issue 52March 2025Pages 35-46

Volume 13, Issue 52
March 2025
Pages 35-46