[Non-suicidal self-injuries in adolescents: Prevention and detection in primary care]

Non-suicidal self-injuries (NSSI) are self-harm behaviours without a suicidal objective, and have a prevalence of 17-18% in adolescents. It is characterised by self-inflicted injuries, mainly in the extremities and abdomen. The psychopathology is subject to the presence of emotional deregulation, in which it seeks the masking of emotional pain with physical pain. A literature review was conducted using research in databases, including key words in English and Spanish. It was found that the identification of NSSI risk factors in adolescents helps in its prevention and identification, and as such it was proposed to classify the NSSI risk factors, as well as the tools for their identification in primary care. It was concluded that the management of NSSI corresponds to the child and adolescent psychiatrist, but primary care physicians have a fundamental role in its detection and prevention.