The field of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is dominated by research conducted with Caucasian-majority samples in Western countries such as United States, Canada, Australia and European countries. This article critically reviewed the empirical research on NSSI in non-Western countries and among ethnic/racial minority individuals who live in the West to give voice to and understand the patterns of NSSI among individuals who do not fall within the dominant Caucasian majority. The study found both similarities and differences between Western and non-Western data in terms of characteristics and functions of NSSI. Differences in gender patterns in regards to prevalence of NSSI and methods used as well as presence of a more relational functionality of NSSI rather than emotion regulation functionality were two points of divergence in the findings of these studies. In addition, the findings seem to indicate that the role of ethnicity/race is mediated by important factors such as socioeconomic status (SES) and gender. Existing gaps in the literature and suggestions for further research are discussed.

Despite increased empirical and clinical attention to non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in Western countries, far less is known about NSSI in non-Western cultures. This study is the first to investigate the prevalence, characteristics and risk factors of NSSI in a sample of university students in Tehran, Iran. All participants (n = 554, mean age = 22.65, 57.2% female) were asked to self-report on NSSI over their lifetime. The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, Depression Anxiety Stress Scales, and SuicidalBehaviors Questionnaire-Revised were employed. A lifetime NSSI prevalence of 12.3%(n = 68) was found with no gender differences. Using logistic regression, lack of emotional awareness remained negatively significant for females after controling for anxiety, depression and suicidality; however, after controlling for the psychological symptoms, no relations were found between emotion dysregulation and a history of lifetime NSSI for male students. In a separate logistic regression, lifetime NSSI predicted suicide attempt above and beyond depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation across gender. Our results on the relations between emotion dysregulation and lifetime NSSI contradict the ample research in the West, emphasizing emotion dysregulation as a risk factor of NSSI and suggest that this relation might vary across cultures. The results are situated within the sociocultural context and compared and contrasted with Western data.

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