[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.