Subjective Vs. Objective Physical Pain in Individuals Who Report a History of Nonsuicidal Self-Injury: A Closer Look at What it Means to Experience Pain

<p>Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) is the self-inflicted damage to one’s bodily tissues without the intent to die. Previous research has sought to discover the motivation of an individual to perform such behavior and differences in the experience of pain among those who self-injure. The goals for the current study were to reveal any relationships between the function of NSSI, the subjective experience of pain, and an objective measurement of pressure pain threshold. Participants completed the Inventory of Statements About Self- Injury (ISAS; Klonsky & Glenn, 2009), which measures the functions that NSSI serves, and a measure assessing subjective pain experience, specifically frequency and severity of pain. Pain thresholds were also induced and recorded using a pressure algometer. The findings suggest that pain frequency significantly predicted pain threshold, whereas subjective pain severity did not. Furthermore, marking distress, the function of NSSI which serves as creating a tangible representation of emotional distress, was significantly associated with pain frequency, such that as marking distress increases in relevance, the less often one would be expected to experience pain. Therefore, the current study has implications relevant to both future research and the clinical setting.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Department of Psychology

Year

2014

Author dc:creator

• Sturycz, Cassandra A.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Amy Brausch (Director), Stephen O'Connor, Aaron Wichman

• Non-suicidal Self-injury
• Pain Threshold Affect
• Pain Managment
• Applied Behavior Analysis
• Child Psychology
• Pain Management
• Psychology

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1404

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.wku.edu:theses-2405