Reported functions of NSSI for the total sample and by sex
| Functions of self-injury | n | Males | Females | χ2 | P value |
| n (%) | n (%) | ||||
| Internal emotion regulation | 348 | 149 (37.9) | 199 (50.64) | 0.565 | 0.515 |
| To relieve feelings of sadness or feeling ‘down’ | 252 | 98 (24.9) | 154 (39.19) | 6.106 | 0.015 |
| To punish myself | 225 | 89 (22.7) | 136 (34.61) | 3.351 | 0.080 |
| To distract me from unpleasant memories | 199 | 84 (21.4) | 115 (29.26) | 0.265 | 0.612 |
| To stop feeling alone and empty | 162 | 65 (16.5) | 97 (24.68) | 1.287 | 0.301 |
| To experience physical pain in one area, when the other pain I feel is unbearable | 146 | 56 (14.3) | 90 (22.9) | 2.512 | 0.116 |
| To produce a sense of being real when I feel numb and ‘unreal’ | 84 | 31 (7.9) | 53 (13.49) | 1.897 | 0.175 |
| To stop me from thinking about ideas of killing myself | 82 | 32 (8.1) | 50 (12.72) | 0.849 | 0.383 |
| To stop me from acting out ideas of killing myself | 79 | 33 (8.4 | 46 (11.7) | 0.122 | 0.800 |
| Social influence | 229 | 101 (25.7) | 128 (32.57) | 0.079 | 0.837 |
| To get out of doing something that I don’t want to do | 122 | 51 (13.0) | 71 (18.07) | 0.210 | 0.662 |
| To avoid getting in trouble for something I did | 100 | 45 (11.5) | 55 (13.99) | 0.121 | 0.728 |
| To get care and attention from other people | 96 | 43 (10.9) | 53 (13.49) | 0.085 | 0.813 |
| To stop my parents from being angry at me | 90 | 40 (10.2) | 50 (12.72) | 0.041 | 0.904 |
| To show others how hurt or damaged I am | 86 | 38 (9.7) | 48 (12.21) | 0.020 | 0.903 |
| To stop people from expecting so much from me | 84 | 36 (9.2) | 48 (12.21) | 0.019 | 0.902 |
| To belong to a group | 42 | 16 (4.1) | 26 (6.62) | 0.561 | 0.512 |
| To change my body image and/or appearance | 41 | 21 (5.3) | 20 (5.09) | 1.107 | 0.320 |
| External emotion regulation | 326 | 130 (33.1) | 196 (49.87) | 10.275 | 0.002 |
| To release unbearable tension | 297 | 118 (30.0) | 179 (45.55) | 7.071 | 0.009 |
| To release anger | 260 | 103 (26.2) | 157 (39.95) | 4.745 | 0.032 |
| To release frustration | 197 | 73 (18.6) | 124 (31.55) | 6.698 | 0.011 |
| Sensation seeking | 112 | 49 (12.5) | 63 (16.03) | 0.004 | 1.000 |
| To prove to myself how much I can take | 72 | 31 (7.9) | 41 (10.43) | 0.007 | 1.000 |
| To experience a ‘high’ that feels like a drug high | 59 | 28 (7.1) | 31 (7.89) | 0.440 | 0.569 |
| To provide a sense of excitement that feels exhilarating | 51 | 249 (6.1) | 27 (6.87) | 0.300 | 0.650 |
NSSI, non-suicidal self-injury.