Intentions in self harm behavior in an emergency population
Subtitle: can they be distinguished based upon a history of childhood physical and sexual abuse?
Published: 2005
Language: eng
Number of pages: 217
Description: This thesis is a study of the intentions in self harm behavior in an emergency population. This non experimental, comparative design measures self harm intent in clients who present to an emergency department with an episode of self harm behavior. Traditional suicide literature identifies key intent concepts: wish to die, lethality, hopelessness and depression. However, the trauma literature has contributed an understanding of self harm behavior as an adaptive response to childhood abuse. It suggests that the management of affect dysregulation and the management of dissociation are important reasons for self harm behavior, and function to sustain rather than to terminate life. Therefore, two comparison groups: non abused and abused are investigated for self harm intent.The research questions hypothesize that intentions in self harm behavior will differ based upon a history of childhood physical and/or sexual abuse. However, the evidence demonstrates little distinction in the wish to die, lethality, hopelessness, or depression. The abused group does endorse greater dissociation than the non abused group. In addition, depression, dissociation and reasons related to affect regulation increase with increased severity of abuse. Almost all participants, regardless of abuse history, endorse multiple reasons for self harm behavior in addition to or other than the wish to die. The striking similarity between the non abused and abused groups in self harm intent challenge the notion that people who engage in self harm behavior may represent more than one population.
Notes: Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Toronto, 2005.

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Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 66-06, Section: B, page: 3063.