The lived experience of self-injury stigma and its psychosocial impact: a thematic analysis
Abstract Background Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) represents a prevalent and significant mental health difficulty experienced by young adults. Few efforts have explored lived experience perspectives concerning the impact of NSSI stigma, despite long-standing recognition that NSSI is highly stigmat...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2025-05-01
|
| Series: | BMC Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-02664-6 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849305568076890112 |
|---|---|
| author | Stephen P. Lewis Joanna Collaton Riley L. Pugh Nancy L. Heath Rob Whitley |
| author_facet | Stephen P. Lewis Joanna Collaton Riley L. Pugh Nancy L. Heath Rob Whitley |
| author_sort | Stephen P. Lewis |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) represents a prevalent and significant mental health difficulty experienced by young adults. Few efforts have explored lived experience perspectives concerning the impact of NSSI stigma, despite long-standing recognition that NSSI is highly stigmatised and recent calls for more research in this area. New insights would be fruitful in identifying which manifestations of stigma are most germane to people who engage in NSSI and what stigma-related supports they may need. Accordingly, the present study sought to understand lived experience perspectives regarding the impact of NSSI stigma. Method A total of 97 young adults with a mean age of 19.32 years (standard deviation [SD] = 2.17) participated in the present study. Participants completed an online survey, including open-ended questions asking about how they have been impacted by NSSI stigma and how they believe people are generally impacted by such stigma. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse text-based responses. Results Our analysis yielded four themes, namely: Shamed into Silence; Unspoken but Sensed Stigma; Anticipation and Avoidance of Stigma, Enduring Shadow of Stigma. These implicate internal forms of stigma - namely, self and anticipated stigma. Collectively, such stigma fomented a significant and often ongoing psychosocial burden involving shame and disclosure reluctance. Participants also perceived external stigma from others, highlighting both verbal and non-verbal considerations therein. Conclusion The current findings highlight several psychosocial consequences of NSSI stigma for individuals with lived experience. In this way, this study adds to a growing body of work illustrating the value of lived experience perspectives in NSSI research and has important implications for research, anti-stigma work, and clinical practice. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-391d7ee6012c42a08070106896a095f5 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2050-7283 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Psychology |
| spelling | doaj-art-391d7ee6012c42a08070106896a095f52025-08-20T03:55:24ZengBMCBMC Psychology2050-72832025-05-0113111110.1186/s40359-025-02664-6The lived experience of self-injury stigma and its psychosocial impact: a thematic analysisStephen P. Lewis0Joanna Collaton1Riley L. Pugh2Nancy L. Heath3Rob Whitley4University of GuelphUniversity of GuelphUniversity of GuelphMcGill UniversityMcGill UniversityAbstract Background Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) represents a prevalent and significant mental health difficulty experienced by young adults. Few efforts have explored lived experience perspectives concerning the impact of NSSI stigma, despite long-standing recognition that NSSI is highly stigmatised and recent calls for more research in this area. New insights would be fruitful in identifying which manifestations of stigma are most germane to people who engage in NSSI and what stigma-related supports they may need. Accordingly, the present study sought to understand lived experience perspectives regarding the impact of NSSI stigma. Method A total of 97 young adults with a mean age of 19.32 years (standard deviation [SD] = 2.17) participated in the present study. Participants completed an online survey, including open-ended questions asking about how they have been impacted by NSSI stigma and how they believe people are generally impacted by such stigma. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse text-based responses. Results Our analysis yielded four themes, namely: Shamed into Silence; Unspoken but Sensed Stigma; Anticipation and Avoidance of Stigma, Enduring Shadow of Stigma. These implicate internal forms of stigma - namely, self and anticipated stigma. Collectively, such stigma fomented a significant and often ongoing psychosocial burden involving shame and disclosure reluctance. Participants also perceived external stigma from others, highlighting both verbal and non-verbal considerations therein. Conclusion The current findings highlight several psychosocial consequences of NSSI stigma for individuals with lived experience. In this way, this study adds to a growing body of work illustrating the value of lived experience perspectives in NSSI research and has important implications for research, anti-stigma work, and clinical practice.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-02664-6Nonsucidal self-injurySelf-harmLived experienceStigmaSelf-stigmaAnticipated stigma |
| spellingShingle | Stephen P. Lewis Joanna Collaton Riley L. Pugh Nancy L. Heath Rob Whitley The lived experience of self-injury stigma and its psychosocial impact: a thematic analysis BMC Psychology Nonsucidal self-injury Self-harm Lived experience Stigma Self-stigma Anticipated stigma |
| title | The lived experience of self-injury stigma and its psychosocial impact: a thematic analysis |
| title_full | The lived experience of self-injury stigma and its psychosocial impact: a thematic analysis |
| title_fullStr | The lived experience of self-injury stigma and its psychosocial impact: a thematic analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | The lived experience of self-injury stigma and its psychosocial impact: a thematic analysis |
| title_short | The lived experience of self-injury stigma and its psychosocial impact: a thematic analysis |
| title_sort | lived experience of self injury stigma and its psychosocial impact a thematic analysis |
| topic | Nonsucidal self-injury Self-harm Lived experience Stigma Self-stigma Anticipated stigma |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-02664-6 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT stephenplewis thelivedexperienceofselfinjurystigmaanditspsychosocialimpactathematicanalysis AT joannacollaton thelivedexperienceofselfinjurystigmaanditspsychosocialimpactathematicanalysis AT rileylpugh thelivedexperienceofselfinjurystigmaanditspsychosocialimpactathematicanalysis AT nancylheath thelivedexperienceofselfinjurystigmaanditspsychosocialimpactathematicanalysis AT robwhitley thelivedexperienceofselfinjurystigmaanditspsychosocialimpactathematicanalysis AT stephenplewis livedexperienceofselfinjurystigmaanditspsychosocialimpactathematicanalysis AT joannacollaton livedexperienceofselfinjurystigmaanditspsychosocialimpactathematicanalysis AT rileylpugh livedexperienceofselfinjurystigmaanditspsychosocialimpactathematicanalysis AT nancylheath livedexperienceofselfinjurystigmaanditspsychosocialimpactathematicanalysis AT robwhitley livedexperienceofselfinjurystigmaanditspsychosocialimpactathematicanalysis |