“My Scars are My Battle Wounds; I Made it Through”: Non-Suicidal Self-Injury in a Gender Diverse College Population

Abstract

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) on college campuses is frequent, with one in five college students having reported engaging in self-injury. The impacts of childhood trauma and abuse are believed to play a role in NSSI behavior and elevate risk factors for individuals in adulthood. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of gender diverse college-aged individuals who have engaged in NSSI. Results indicated that most of the participants reported trauma influenced their NSSI behavior. Though there was not a significant report of family-based trauma, it was found that the traumatic experience that most of the participants shared was having a traumatic sexual experience (59% n = 46). Some clinical implications and directions for future research are discussed.