Effects of self-injurious thoughts and behaviors and sexual risk-taking behaviors through emotional control

Sexual Activity as Self-Injury: A Scoping Review

Suicide and other self-injurious behaviors (SIB) are significant causes of morbidity and mortality as well as healthcare costs. Sexual risk behaviors are associated with many SIB, and sexual activities may act as SIB as well. In this scoping review, we consider ways in which sexual activity has been conceptualized as SIB - types of sexual activities as a form of self-injury - and cases in which sexual activities as SIB have been classified as direct or indirect self-injury. We include English-language publications that discuss any aspect of sexual activity as SIB. Database, citation list, and gray literature searches yielded 33 publications. Sexual activities as a form of self-injury included exposure to HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, sadomasochistic behaviors undertaken for punishment rather than pleasure, selling sex, injury to the genitals, and sexual encounters with undesired partners or consisting of undesired acts. Twenty-three publications did not categorize sexual activities to self-injure as either direct or indirect self-injury, three publications categorized them as indirect self-injury, and seven publications as direct self-injury. Sexual activity is used to self-injure in a variety of ways and its conceptualization as indirect or direct self-injury remains unclear.

Perceived Help and Support for Sex as Self-Injury: A Qualitative Study of a Swedish Sample

Earlier research has found that sexual acts could be used as a means of self-injury, with comparable functions to nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) such as cutting or burning the skin. However, no previous study has investigated the experience of help and support in relation to sex as a means of self-injury (SASI), which this study aims to investigate. The study was based on an anonymous open-ended questionnaire published from December 2016 to April 2017 on the websites of NGOs working with help and support for women and youths in Sweden. In total, 197 participants (mostly women, mean age 27.9 years, range 15-64 years) with self-reported experiences of SASI were included in the study. Three main themes were found concerning experiences of help and support for SASI. The need for: (1) Framing the behavior of SASI, to find a word for SASI-to know it exists, to get questions and information about SASI and its function; (2) Flexible, respectful, and professional help and support from an early age, to be listened to and confirmed in one's experience of SASI; and (3) Help with underlying reasons to exit SASI such as finding one's own value and boundaries through conventional therapy, through life itself, or through therapy for underlying issues such as earlier traumatic events, PTSD, dissociation, or anxiety. In conclusion, similar interventions could be helpful for SASI as for NSSI, irrespective of the topographical differences between the behaviors, but the risk of victimization and traumatization must also be addressed in SASI.

Prevalence of suicidal behavior in young university students: A systematic review with meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

to identify the prevalence of suicidal behavior in young university students.

METHOD

a systematic review with meta-analysis of cross-sectional studies based on the Joanna Briggs Institute proposal, and carried out in the PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, PsycINFO and LILACS databases and in the Brazilian Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations, with no language or year restrictions. A total of 2,942 publications were identified. Selection, data extraction and methodological evaluation of the studies were performed by two independent researchers. The meta-analysis was performed considering the random effects model.

RESULTS

eleven articles were included in this review. The prevalence variation for suicidal ideation was from 9.7% to 58.3% and, for attempted suicide, it was from 0.7% to 14.7%. The meta-analysis showed a 27.1% prevalence for suicidal ideation in life, 14.1% for ideation in the last year, and 3.1% for attempted suicide in life.

CONCLUSION

the high prevalence of suicidal behavior, even with the considerable heterogeneity of the studies, raises the need to implement interventions aimed at preventing suicide and promoting mental health, especially in the academic environment.