Self-restraint and self-injury: Occurrence and motivational significance

Abstract

The occurrence of self-resistant was examined in a sample of 99 adults with severe or profound mental retardation who exhibited self-injury. Results showed that 46% of the sample exhibited self-resistant. A significantly higher occurrence of compulsive behaviors was found for subjects who engaged in self-injury and self-resistant when compared to self-injury subjects without self-resistant. To determine the motivational significance of self- resistant, we assessed the response to brief interruption of this behavior. Subjects who engaged in self-resistant responded more negatively to response interruption than did control subjects. These preliminary findings support the hypothesis that self-injury may be related to a compulsive behavior disorder in some individuals who self-restrain.