The longitudinal course of non-suicidal self-injury and deliberate self-harm: a systematic review of the literature

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) has been proposed as diagnostic entity and was added to the section 3 of the DSM 5. Nevertheless, little is known about the long-term course of this disorder and many studies have pointed to the fact that NSSI seems to be volatile over time. We aimed to assemble studies providing longitudinal data about NSSI and furthermore included studies using the definition of deliberate self-harm (DSH) to broaden the epidemiological picture. Using a systematic search strategy, we were able to retrieve 32 studies reporting longitudinal data about NSSI and DSH. We furthermore aimed to describe predictors for the occurrence of NSSI and DSH that were identified in these longitudinal studies.…