Citation

Santa Mina EE. Can. J. Nurs. Res. 2010; 42(4): 122-143.

Affiliation

Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, McGill University School of Nursing, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

21319642

Abstract

A non-experimental, comparative design is used to measures self-harm intention in clients with and without a history of childhood physical and sexual abuse (CP/SA) presenting to an emergency department with an episode of self-harm behaviour. The traditional suicide literature identifies the key intention concepts of wish-to-die, lethality, hopelessness, and depression. However, the trauma literature understands self-harm behaviour to be an adaptive response to CP/SA and as such possibly helpful for managing intense affect and dissociation. The findings of this study demonstrate that a CP/SA history is not a distinguishing factor in self-harm intention. Almost all participants, regardless of abuse history, gave multiple reasons for their self-harm behaviour, in addition to or other than the wish-to-die. The striking similarity between the non-abused and abused groups with regard to self-harm intention challenges clinicians to assess for the full range of intentions of people who engage in self-harm and suicidal behaviour.

Language: en