[Non-suicidal self-injury disorder as a possible mental illness category and the Hungarian adaptation of a questionnaire developed to measure].

Introduction: Non-suicidal self-injury disorder is a severe form of non-suicidal self-injury, listed in the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition) as a condition in need of further study. The validity of this diagnostic category, which is still undergoing scientific testing, has been confirmed by a number of studies, highlighting that when it is associated with other mental disorders, more severe symptoms and psychosocial impairment are present. Objective: Our study tested the presence and characteristics of non-suicidal self-injury disorder in an adult clinical sample, while adapting a questionnaire designed to measure this syndrome. Method: In our cross-sectional questionnaire study, 101 psychiatric patients (66.3% female; mean age = 36.88 years; SD = 12.94) answered questions from the first part of the Inventory of Statements About Self-Injury, the Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Disorder Scale and the MMPI-2 (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2) clinical personality and psychopathology test. Results: Nearly 70% of the patients (n = 70) reported having experienced at least one episode of non-suicidal self-injury in their lifetime, but a much smaller proportion of the sample, 20.8% (n = 21), was affected by non-suicidal self-injury disorder, which was identifiable even without borderline personality disorder. Patients with non-suicidal self-injury disorder had significantly higher scores – in the pathological range – on the clinical scales (Hypochondriasis, Depression, Hysteria, Psychopathic Deviate, Paranoia, Psychasthenia, Schizophrenia, Social Introversion), on some personality psychopathology scales (Psychoticism, Neuroticism, Introversion) and on the suicidal scales of the MMPI-2 questionnaire. Hopelessness and engaging in multiple self-injurious methods significantly increase the risk of non-suicidal self-injury as a syndrome. Discussion: Non-suicidal self-injury disorder was also identified in a sample of Hungarian adult psychiatric patients without the presence of borderline personality disorder. The diagnostic level of non-suicidal self-injury was associated with more pronounced clinical symptoms and more severe psychosocial impairment. The psychometric validity of the Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Disorder Scale, designed to measure the syndrome, was also confirmed. Conclusion: Non-suicidal self-injury disorder can be interpreted as a distinct and clinically relevant diagnostic entity, and the scale introduced in the Hungarian test battery provides a reliable and valid measure to this symptomatology. Orv Hetil. 2025; 166(3): 98–108.