TPC Journal-Vol 10- Issue 3-FULL ISSUE

The Professional Counselor | Volume 10, Issue 3 357 Adolescent Engagement in SIB All adolescents reported engaging in SIB in their lifetime, and the average lifetime frequency of SIB was 438.72 ( SD = 1,216.65, range = 1–6,079; transformed to address normality: M = 4.41, SD = 1.80). Specifically, most participants reported engaging in nonsuicidal SIB ( n = 26) and using it with higher frequency than SIB with other intent (i.e., suicidal or ambivalent SIB), with a lifetime average of 340.16 ( SD = 975.22, range = 0–4,565; transformed: M = 3.49, SD = 2.25). Many adolescents also reported engaging in ambivalent SIB ( n = 18), with moderate average frequency rates ( M = 22.28, SD = 52.02, range = 0–248; transformed: M = 1.62, SD = 1.69). Lastly, fewer adolescents reported engaging in suicidal SIB ( n = 18), with the lowest average lifetime frequency ( M = 7.34, SD = 25.03, range = 0–136; transformed: M = 0.97, SD = 0.95). See Table 3 for descriptive information on SIB methods (e.g., cutting) used by adolescents in our sample. On average, participants used 3.78 ( SD = 2.15) methods of SIB in their lifetime. Table 3 Descriptive Statistics for All Self-Injurious Behavior Completed in One’s Lifetime (N = 29) Variable n M a SD a Range a n of Severe Cases Cutting 27 179.55 330.42 0–1,500 7 Hitting head/body 16 240.90 730.59 0–3,000 0 Overdosing 13 1.88 3.59 0–15 7 Burning 13 6.12 14.99 0–60 1 Strangling/hanging 8 2.18 6.42 0–30 0 Stabbing/puncturing 8 0.80 1.64 0–7 2 Asphyxiating 7 1.66 3.90 0–15.62 0 Other 6 272.92 602.33 0–1,500 2 Jumping 4 1.27 5.31 0–25 1 Drowning 4 0.40 .99 0–4 0 Poisoning 3 0.14 .36 0–1 1 Note. The descriptive statistics are based on the total self-injurious behavior, combining acts completed with suicidal intent, nonsuicidal intent, and ambivalence. Other = adolescent-reported participating in a type of self-injury that was not listed; Jumping = jumping from a high place to cause injury; Severe Cases = requiring medical treatment. a The frequency that adolescents reported engaging in the various methods of self-injury. Predicting SIB With Family Functioning To understand the relationships between family functioning and SIB, we conducted correlational analyses of the three outcome variables and nine predictors. As shown in Table 4, problem-solving was moderately associated with ambivalent SIB ( r = .44 , p = .018), conflict was moderately associated with nonsuicidal SIB ( r = .38 , p = .049), and adolescent-reported communication was moderately to strongly associated with all three SIB variables (suicidal r = .61, p < .001; nonsuicidal r = .47, p = .011; ambivalent r = .56, p = .002). All associations were positive (see Table 4), meaning that worse family functioning scores were associated with more SIB.