Psychological aspects of body perception in depression with non-suicidal self-injury

INTRODUCTION: Emotional regulation appears to be a key factor in self-injury. But body image also may play an important role in self-harming. OBJECTIVES: Analysis of the relationship between non-suicidal self-injurious behavior and various aspects of body representation and body perception in adolescents and young women suffering from depression. METHODS: The study involved 85 women with endogenous depression. The answer to the question “Sometimes I purposely injure myself” was used as an indicator of self-harm. The methods include: SCL-90-R, Body Investment Scale (BIS), Physical Appearance Comparison Scale-Revised (PACS-R), Body Satisfaction Scale (BSS), Cambridge Depersonalization Scale (CDS). RESULTS: The relationship between self-injurious behavior and emotional, cognitive and behavioral characteristics of the self-body perception was revealed: more negative body image - dissatisfaction with its parts and the whole body (correlation with BSS_head ,238*, BSS_body ,472**, BSS_total_score ,453**), which is accompanied by behavioral manifestations - reduced “Protection” (correlation with BIS -,281**), higher rates of self-surveillance and comparisons of the self-body with others (PACS-R ,323**), depersonalization (CDS ,301**), body dissociation (CDS ABE ,346**), somatization (SCL-90-R ,226*). CONCLUSIONS: For young women with depression, it has been shown that when self-harming, the self-body is “devalued”, perceived as “bad,” and the need to protect it is ignored. The severity of self-harm directly correlates with the phenomena of somatopsychic depersonalization. The results obtained may indicate that rejection of the self-body, “alienated” attitude and deprivation of the body of “subjectivity” can contribute to its use as a tool for solving psychological problems, which is a risk factor for the development, consolidation and aggravation of self-injurious behavior. DISCLOSURE: No significant relationships.