Body Image in Adolescents with Suicidal and Non-Suicidal Self-Harm Behavior: Satisfaction with Their Own Bodies

Abstract

The aim of the study was to examine the features of body image perception in adolescents with self-harming, suicidal and normative behavior in terms of satisfaction with their own bodies. A theoretical review of the phenomena of suicidal and self-harming behavior and current studies of body image in non-clinical and clinical samples was conducted. The description and results of the first part of the empirical study of body image, devoted to the study of satisfaction with one's own body, are presented. The study was conducted on three groups of adolescents: those with suicidal behavior (n=30, Mage=15.10, SDage=0.97, 26.7% of males), self-injurious behavior (n=27, Mage=15.48, SDage=1.10, 11.1% of males) and normative behavior (control group: n=30, Mage=15.40, SDage=0.96, 50% of males). The first group was distinguished on the basis of anamnestic data (suicide attempts in the last year or current hospitalization due to high suicide risk), the second group was distinguished on the basis of the Self-Harming Behavior Reason Scale (N.A. Polskaya, 2017): repeated cuts, punctures, and/or self-burns in the last year. The following methods were used: Self-Harming Behavior Reason Scale (N.A. Polskaya, 2017), Body Focus Questionnaire (Fisher, 1970), adapted by E.T. Sokolova (1985) and a questionnaire to collect socio-demographic data (gender, age, presence of psychiatric diagnoses, suicide attempts). The results suggest that self-harm is determined by an adolescent's need to reduce psychoemotional tension and gain control over emotions, and these determinants are stronger in the main groups than in the control groups, but no differences were found between the main groups. Satisfaction with one's own body is lower in the main groups compared to controls, but no differences were found between the main groups.