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Peer-reviewedCC BYInternational journal of methods in psychiatric research

Lifetime Prevalence of Nonsuicidal Self-Injury in Adolescents: Reliability of a Dichotomous Survey Item.

  • Erik Aspeqvist1
  • Hedvig Andersson1
  • Örjan Dahlström2,3
  • Laura Korhonen1,4,5
  • Maria Zetterqvist1,4
5 affiliations
  1. 1Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.
  2. 2Department of Behavioral Sciences and Learning, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.
  3. 3Athletics Research Center, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.
  4. 4Clinical Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in Linköping, Region Östergötland, Linköping, Sweden.
  5. 5Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Barnafrid, Swedish National Center on Violence Against Children, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.
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Abstract

Introduction

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a widespread phenomenon among adolescents. Accurate estimates of prevalence rates when screening for NSSI are essential both in research and clinical settings. However, high variability raises the question of the reliability of self-reported NSSI prevalence.Methods

The reliability of a dichotomous survey item on history of NSSI was investigated longitudinally using data from five time points across 16 months in a community sample (N = 253) of Swedish adolescents (age M = 14.21 years, SD = 0.56, 58.5% female).Results

About one in five participants (18.97%) changed their answer compared to their initial response. Of those who answered negatively on lifetime prevalence of NSSI at baseline, 8.95% later acknowledged NSSI, while 57.69% of those initially acknowledging NSSI later answered negatively. Fleiss' kappa across all five measurements indicated moderate agreement. Cohen's kappa between baseline and 12 months indicated moderate agreement.Conclusions

In this adolescent sample, the reliability of a single-item question on NSSI history was moderate. More than half of those who initially acknowledged a history of NSSI answered negatively at a later time point. Interpretation of self-reported lifetime prevalence rates of NSSI in adolescents using dichotomous survey items needs to be made cautiously.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{aspeqvist2026lifetime,
  title = {{Lifetime Prevalence of Nonsuicidal Self-Injury in Adolescents: Reliability of a Dichotomous Survey Item.}},
  author = {Erik Aspeqvist and Hedvig Andersson and Örjan Dahlström and Laura Korhonen and Maria Zetterqvist},
  journal = {International journal of methods in psychiatric research},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1002/mpr.70115},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42904483},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Lifetime Prevalence of Nonsuicidal Self-Injury in Adolescents: Reliability of a Dichotomous Survey Item.
AU  - Erik Aspeqvist
AU  - Hedvig Andersson
AU  - Örjan Dahlström
AU  - Laura Korhonen
AU  - Maria Zetterqvist
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/30
JO  - International journal of methods in psychiatric research
DO  - 10.1002/mpr.70115
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42904483
AB  - Introduction  Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a widespread phenomenon among adolescents. Accurate estimates of prevalence rates when screening for NSSI are essential both in research and clinical settings. However, high variability raises the question of the reliability of self-reported NSSI prevalence.Methods  The reliability of a dichotomous survey item on history of NSSI was investigated longitudinally using data from five time points across 16 months in a community sample (N = 253) of Swedish adolescents (age M = 14.21 years, SD = 0.56, 58.5% female).Results  About one in five participants (18.97%) changed their answer compared to their initial response. Of those who answered negatively on lifetime prevalence of NSSI at baseline, 8.95% later acknowledged NSSI, while 57.69% of those initially acknowledging NSSI later answered negatively. Fleiss' kappa across all five measurements indicated moderate agreement. Cohen's kappa between baseline and 12 months indicated moderate agreement.Conclusions  In this adolescent sample, the reliability of a single-item question on NSSI history was moderate. More than half of those who initially acknowledged a history of NSSI answered negatively at a later time point. Interpretation of self-reported lifetime prevalence rates of NSSI in adolescents using dichotomous survey items needs to be made cautiously.
SN  - 1049-8931
SN  - 1557-0657
ER  -