MIDAS Project Publication Abstracts

Zlotnick, C., Mattia, J.I., Zimmerman, M. Clinical correlates of self-mutilation in a sample of general psychiatric patients. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 2005, 187, 296-301.

The aims of this study were to examine whether certain Axis I disorders characterized by impulsive aggression were associated with self-mutilative behavior and to evaluate the clinical correlates of self-mutilation in a sample of general psychiatric outpatients. Two hundred and fifty-six outpatients were administered diagnostic interviews for Axis I and Axis II disorders. In addition questionnaires that measured self-mutilative acts within the last three months, dissociation, and childhood sexual abuse were completed. This study found that Axis I disorders of substance abuse, posttraumatic stress disorder and intermittent explosive disorder were significantly related to self-mutilative behavior, independent of borderline personality disorder and antisocial personality disorder. Also, a higher level of dissociation was related to self-mutilation, controlling for borderline personality disorder and childhood abuse. Outpatients with certain Axis I disorders and those who dissociate may represent a sizable group of patients who are at risk for self-mutilative behavior.

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