An exploratory study of deliberate self-harm in a South African student population

• Main Author: Van Rooyen, Christiaan
• Other Authors: Maree, David J.F.
• Language: en
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: Exploration; Deliberate self-harm; Students; Principle component analysis; Functional Assessment of Self-Mutilation; Factor; Social learning theory; General population; Deliberate self-harm inventory; Survey; UCTD
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2263/36736; Van Rooyen, C 2013, An exploratory study of deliberate self-harm in a South African student population, MA dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd <http://hdl.handle.net/2263/36736>

This cross-sectional study aimed to generate an exploratory functional model of deliberate self-harm (DSH) occurring among a South African student population (n = 603) using Principle Component Analysis (PCA). A battery of instruments, including the Deliberate Self-Harm Inventory (DSHI) and the Functional Assessment of Self-Mutilation (FASM) were administered to students. Following Nock and Prinstein’s (2004) four-factor model on the functions of DSH, self-reported reasons for DSH on the FASM were conceptualised in light of the reinforcement mechanisms of social learning theory. PCA revealed a four-factor model for the reasons students engaged in DSH, constituent of the following components: social positive reinforcement, social negative reinforcement, automatic reinforcement, and reinforcement regarding self-image. A unique factor manifests in the self-image reinforcement component, suggesting divergence in the functions of DSH between student and adolescent populations. === Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. === gm2014 === Psychology === unrestricted