Feeling better or worse? The lived experience of non-suicidal self-injury among Malaysian University students. Issue 1 (2nd January 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Tan, Su Chen; Tam, Cai Lian; Bonn, Gregory
• Is Part Of: Asia pacific journal of counselling and psychotherapy. Volume 10:Issue 1(2019)
• Page Start: 3
• Page End: 20
• Publication Date: 2019-01-02
• Subjects: Self-injury -- emotion regulation -- interpretative phenomenological analysis -- NSSI -- Malaysia; Counseling -- Periodicals; Psychotherapy -- Periodicals; 616.8914
• DOI: 10.1080/21507686.2018.1541912
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2150-7686

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This article explores subjective experiences related to non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) through a qualitative analysis of interviews with 7 Malaysian university students who had recently engaged in NSSI. Participants discussed their feelings, motivations, and experiences related to self-injury in one-on-one, semi-structured interviews. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to identify shared themes across participants' accounts of their involvement with non-suicidal self-injury. Four major themes were identified: (a) Emotion dysregulation, (b) NSSI as emotion regulation strategy, (c) Negative self-perceptions, and (d) Struggling with the adverse consequences of self-injury. Implications of these findings for the support and treatment of those engaging in non-suicidal self-injury are discussed.