Adolescents' attitudes toward non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and their perspectives of barriers to seeking professional treatment for NSSI.

PURPOSE

This study aimed to investigate the attitudes of adolescents toward NSSI, and to explore their perspectives on barriers to seeking professional treatment for NSSI.

METHODS

A qualitative phenomenological design was used to conduct in-depth interviews with 17 adolescents with NSSI in a psychiatric hospital in Beijing, China. Data from the 17 adolescents were analyzed using Colaizzi's 7-step analysis.

RESULTS

Two themes were extracted: (1) attitudes toward NSSI (normal, effective, ignorant, disgraceful); (2) subjective/objective barriers to seeking professional treatment (negative attitudes toward NSSI, fear of being regarded as an attention getter, fear of interfering with personal relationships, fear of aggravating the family burden, fear of being criticized by parents, fear of ongoing hospitalization, fear of the side effects of medication, etc.).

CONCLUSIONS

It is suggested to strengthen the knowledge of NSSI among adolescents, families and society, formulate interventions suitable for Chinese sociocultural backgrounds, and cultivate the specialty literacy of mental health nurses and their abilities to identify the barriers, which are required for eliminating barriers to seeking professional treatment and establishing a system for seeking full coverage of professional treatment.