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Self-restraint and self-injury: occurrence and motivational significance
S B Powell1, J W Bodfish, D Parker
1College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida, Gainesville 32610-0256, USA.
Abstract:
The occurrence of self-restraint 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-restraint. A significantly higher occurrence of compulsive behaviors was found for subjects who engaged in self-injury and self-restraint when compared to self-injury subjects without self-restraint. To determine the motivational significance of self-restraint, we assessed the response to brief interruption of this behavior. Subjects who engaged in self-restraint 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.
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