Browsing by Author "Nock, M. K."
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Item Future Directions for the Study of Suicide and Self-Injury(Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 2012) Nock, M. K.The death of a child is one of the most tragic events imaginable. Even more gut-wrenching is when a child intentionally chooses to end his or her own life in order to escape from unbearable suffering. Unfortunately, the occurrence of self-harm behaviors increases dramatically and occurs at elevated rates during adolescence and suicide currently is the fourth leading cause of all death among U.S. children and adolescents aged 10-14 years, third among those 15-24 years, and second among those 25-34 years. As a parent, this state of affairs is unacceptable. As psychological scientists, we must do more to decrease this tragic loss of precious life. Fortunately, the past few decades have brought significant advances in the understanding of suicide and other forms of self-inflicted injury. For instance, we have learned that suicidal behavior seems to run in families and the risk of suicidal behavior that is transmitted across generations exists above and beyond that of psychiatric disorders such as depression. We also have learned that the experience of serious adversities during childhood significantly increases one’s risk of the onset and persistence of suicidal behavior. We also are starting to see more complex models that examine the interaction of risk factors, such as those combining the findings mentioned above to suggest that some inherited genetic factors (e.g., a functional polymorphism of the serotonin transporter gene) may interact with environmental risk factors (e.g., childhood maltreatment) to increase the risk of depression and suicidal behavior. Despite these and other important advances, there is still a great deal that remains unknown about even some of the most fundamental characteristics of self-harm. The enormous lacunae in our current understanding of self-harm provide a research agenda for future directions in the study of suicidal and nonsuicidal self-injury. In this paper, I outline what I perceive to be some of the most important future directions in this effort.Item Why Do People Hurt Themselves? New Insights into the Nature and Functions of Self-Injury(Current directions in psychological science, 2009) Nock, M. K.Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a prevalent but perplexing behavior problem in which people deliberately harm themselves without lethal intent. Research on the nature of NSSI reveals that it typically has its onset during early adolescence, most often involves cutting or carving the skin, and appears equally prevalent across sexes, ethnicities, and socioeconomic statuses. Less is known about why people engage in NSSI. This paper presents a theoretical model of the development and maintenance of NSSI. Rather than a symptom of mental disorder, NSSI is conceptualized as a harmful behavior that can serve several intrapersonal (e.g., affect regulation) and interpersonal (e.g., help-seeking) functions. Risk of NSSI is increased by general factors that contribute to problems with affect regulation or interpersonal communication (e.g., childhood abuse), and by specific factors that influence the decision to use NSSI rather than some other behavior to serve these functions (e.g., social modeling). This model synthesizes research from several different areas of the literature and points toward several lines of research needed to further advance the understanding of why people hurt themselves.