Table 3.

Principle components analysis ¹ of reasons for engaging in NSSI

Reasons for self-injury	Factor 1	Factor 2	Factor 3	U	M	SD
8. To receive more attention from your parents or friends	.86			.74	0.18	0.55
17. To get your parents to understand or notice you	.78			.62	0.18	0.62
11. To get other people to act differently or change	.71			.54	0.11	0.42
15. To let others know how desperate you were	.65			.52	0.39	0.84
20. To get help	.64			.42	0.08	0.40
12. To be like someone you respect	.51			.42	0.04	0.19
3. To get attention	.48			.29	0.19	0.54
21. To make others angry	.43			.24	0.08	0.39
14. To stop bad feelings		.72		.55	0.65	0.97
7. To try to get a reaction from someone, even if it’s negative		.71		.54	0.15	0.52
22. To feel relaxed		.70		.52	0.19	0.54
6. To get control of a situation		.69		.51	0.26	0.62
4. To feel something		.69		.55	0.29	0.67
10. To punish yourself		.51		.38	0.33	0.71
2. To relieve feeling numb or empty		.50		.32	0.16	0.51
18. To give yourself something to do when alone				.22	0.18	0.54
13. To avoid punishment or paying the consequences			.73	.54	0.03	0.17
9. To avoid being with people			.56	.43	0.09	0.44
5. To avoid doing something unpleasant you don’t want to do			.56	.46	0.20	0.55
16. To feel more a part of a group	.44		.55	.51	0.05	0.27
1. To avoid school, work, or other activities			.53	.38	0.16	0.53
19. To give yourself something to do with others				.12	0.03	0.17

¹Varimax rotation, n = 170, 44.6% of variance explained. Loadings under 0.4 omitted. Items scored on a 4-point 0–3 scale.