Objective: Nonsuicidal self-injury refers to the intentional self-inflicted destruction of body tissue without suicidal intention and for purposes not socially sanctioned. Our paper presents an up-to-date overview on nonsuicidal, self-injurious behaviors. Method: In accordance with PRISMA guidelines, a systematic literature search was conducted across two databases, PubMed and PsycARTICLES, regarding the main features of NSSI with a focus on epidemiological and etiologic data, diagnostic criteria, and functions. All English articles, published between 1998 and 2016, were considered, and screened against a priori inclusion/exclusion criteria. The search terms include: self-harm, self-injury, nonsuicidal self-injury, NSSI, epidemiology, comorbidity, gender, functions and DSM. We also examined the references of the retrieved articles. Results: Nonsuicidal self-injury is most common among adolescents and young adults, and the age of onset is reported to occur between 12 and 14 years. Comorbidity with borderline personality disorder and eating disorders is often reported. DSM-5 includes nonsuicidal self-injury as a condition requiring further study. This review gives an overview of the prevalence rates (7.5% - 46.5% adolescents, 38.9% university students, 4% - 23% adults) and main causes that appear to stem from childhood trauma, comorbidity with many other disorders and several functions of nonsuicidal self-injury, and the potential independence of a nonsuicidal self-injury disorder. Conclusion: Over the years, interest in NSSI grew to such an extent that an ongoing debate was instigated on whether NSSI should be considered as a diagnosis in its own right and given its own category. This paper provides an up-to-date overview on self-injury, what is known about it and what remains to be done. Clearly, our understanding of the main issues of NSSI has increased in last two decades. However, future researches is needed to examine the developmental trajectories, cultural backgrounds and shed light on the risk factors and functions as well as clarify its role as an independent diagnostic entity.

The present review investigates the complex associations between children’s affective states, body perceptions, and eating habits, thus providing crucial insights for potential health interventions. Following PRISMA guidelines, three databases were searched for peer-reviewed studies exploring the relationship between eating habits, emotional states, and body image perceptions in a population of children (5 to 11 years old). A total of seven articles were included. Our findings revealed a pattern of associations between negative emotional states, like anxiety and depressive feelings, and maladaptive eating behaviors. Additionally, explicit influences from parental feeding practices, peer pressure, socioeconomic factors, and children’s body perceptions were observed to shape eating habits, with a pronounced tendency among older girls towards dieting and food preoccupation. Our results underline the intertwining nature of age, gender, and emotional states. Furthermore, our findings accentuate the urgency for comprehensive interventions that acknowledge and address the complex interplay of emotional, familial, and socioeconomic factors alongside children’s body image perceptions. The criticality of continued research, particularly ones employing longitudinal designs and diverse demographic samples, is highlighted as we strive to understand and navigate such multifaceted relationships to enhance children’s health and well-being.

Although low self-esteem and body disinvestment have been recognized as potential risk factors for disordered eating, no studies have explored how these factors may work together to predict binge eating in adolescents. Therefore, we hypothesized a path model for girls and boys separately to investigate whether the body’s investment dimensions (feelings towards the body, physical touch, body care, body protection) mediate the relationship between self-esteem and binge eating, and age moderate such relationships. Participants were 1046 Italian students aged between 11 and 19 years (472 girls, M_age = 14.17; 574 boys, M_age = 14.60) screened through self-report measures. Both models showed an acceptable fit (males: χ²₍₂₂₎ = 30.441; RMSEA = 0.026; CFI = 0.99; TLI = 0.97; SRMR = 0.023; females: χ²₍₂₂₎ = 34.723; RMSEA = 0.35; CFI = 0.98; TLI = 0.95; SRMR = 0.029). Negative body feelings and reduced body protection fully mediated the relationship between self-esteem and binge eating, regardless of gender. Our findings highlight the importance of interventions promoting body emotional investment to reduce adolescents’ vulnerability to binge eating.

Considering how to improve efficacy of therapeutic strategies, the overall objective of the present study was to investigate the extent of eating concerns and to identify predictors associated with the severity of disordered eating symptomatology among people with eating pathologies. We screened 80 female eating disordered patients, ranging from 13 to 40 years, by means of self-report measures of parental behavior as perceived by the offspring, self-esteem, perfectionism, body shame and eating disorder severity. Self-reported weight and height were obtained. The diagnosis of bulimia nervosa resulted to be associated with a greater severity of the eating symptomatology. Maladaptive perfectionism, body shame and self-esteem, significantly predicted the level of eating concerns. The recognition of potential maintaining factors may support the choice of particular therapeutic strategies to improve the treatment of eating pathologies and their outcomes.

Although cyberbullying and cybervictimization prevention programs have proved effective in the short term, their effectiveness remains unclear in the long run. Thus, the present study evaluated the long-term effects of the Tabby Improved Prevention and Intervention Program (TIPIP). Participants were 475 middle and high school students (Mage = 12.38; SD = 1.45; F = 241, 51%), of whom, 167 were in the Experimental Group (EG; Mage = 13.15; SD = 1.52; M = 51.5%), and 308 were in the Control Group (CG; Mage = 13.47; SD = 1.35; M = 47.7%). Students completed measures assessing cyberbullying and cybervictimization at three time points: baseline (T1), immediately after the intervention (6 months, T2), and at 1 year (T3). The results showed no significant effects of the TIPIP in reducing both cyberbullying and cybervictimization over time. Overall, our results confirm the lack of effectiveness of long-term preventive programs and emphasize that different curricula should be implemented in future programs to prevent and manage cyberbullying and cybervictimization, also taking into account psychological mechanisms and processes involved in such behaviors.