Non-suicidal self-injury behaviors (NSSI) are a growing problem among adolescents and young adults. NSSI includes behaviors such as self-cutting. Although the motivation for self-injury is not suicide, NSSI is one risk factor for suicide and it imposes a heavy emotional burden for those affected and their families, and it is therefore becoming a public health concern. Unfortunately, the few treatments that have shown effectiveness in NSSI are very expensive and difficult to access. These barriers prevent many young people to receive the necessary psychological help.
In this context, the current research project aims to develop a specific intervention for NSSI that can be completed through a mobile phone App. In this way, we aim to overcome existing barriers to access NSSI treatment. To carry out the proposed project, different research groups will collaborate with expertise in different areas. The main role of LABPSITEC (UJI) will be the development of the APP.
We will recruit 300 young people between 14 and 24 years old dealing with a mental health problem. A subgroup of the participants will undergo a functional magnetic resonance neuroimaging. During the following 3 months, a group of the participants in the study will complete the app-based intervention designed specifically for this project. The rest of the participants will complete the alternative app-based intervention which is not specifically tailored for NSSI. Finally, we intend to jointly analyse all the data obtained throughout the study with the aim of identifying subgroups of young people with NSSI and predicting which subgroups could derive the most benefit from the NSSI-specific app-based intervention. The results derived from this project could help develop personalized treatment for NSSI, and most importantly, they could help improve the quality of life of adolescents and young adults who self-harm.
Reference: 10106/2021
Duration: 3 años (Desde el 21/03/2023 hasta el 20/03/2026)
Funding entity:
Fundació La Marató de TV3-2021
PI: Azucena García Palacios
Participating institutions:
- Hospital de Igualada (Coordinador)
- Universitat Jaume I
- Universitat de Barcelona
- Universitat de Vic
