반복 자해 청소년의 통각 역치

Pain Threshold in Adolescents with Repetitive Self-Injurious Behavior

To test the hypothesis that the difference in pain threshold is one of biological mediators involved in repetitive self-injurious behavior(SIB)，the author evaluated the frequency and number of SIB, measured pain threshold with a pressure algometer, and scored emotional status with Zung’s self-rating depresion scale (SDS) and Irritability Depression Anxiety scale (IDA ). The subjects were male adolescents with repetitive SIB(N=37), Single SIB(39) ， and without SIB(45). The subjects who did SIB within 3 months or who had present or past history of major physical illness or psychotic episode were excluded. The results were as follows ; 1) Repetitive SIB group was significantly insensitive to painful stmuli than One or No SIB group. 2) There was no significant difference in depressive or anxiety symptoms between Repetitive SIB and One SIB group. 3) In SIB group, pain threshold was positively correlated with average number of selfinjurious wounds per one self-injurious behavior significantly. From these results, the author suggests that lower sensitivity to painful stimuli in basal state may be one of biological mediators involved in repetitive SIB.