Non-Suicidal Self-Injury in Latin America

Background Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) is defined as the intentional direct injury of the own bodily tissue without suicidal intent. In areas with a Caucasian majority population, such as the USA, Canada and Europe, it is a rapidly increasing phenomenon, especially among young people. However, from a European point of view, little scientific information is found on NSSI in Latin America. Method A study of English, Spanish and Portuguese literature on NSSI in Latin America was conducted using electronic search engines. During a ten-month period of field work in Belo Horizonte, Brasil, a systematic search was conducted of the international press, the popular local press, television broadcasts, Internet sites and blogs. Semi-structured elite interviews were conducted of academic professionals and practitioners. Spontaneous conversations on NSSI took place with local inhabitants. Results Three reasons for the authors' prior lack of success in finding publications on NSSI in Latin America could be distinguished: the gap between academic professionals, practitioners and inhabitant population, the language of the publications, and the existing confusion in terminology and research traditions regarding NSSI. Conclusion NSSI has a high prevalence in Latin America, which can be Compared to that of the northern hemisphere. Although there are some differences in the ways of engaging in NSSI and in its functions, there are also important similarities. Scientific information on,NSSI in Latin America remains difficult to find for researchers in other parts of the world. Therefore we advocate a consensus in terminology and suggest that all publications would provide English key words and would be included in international scientific databases to ensure a world-wide dissemination. An alternative is-the construction of one centralized global Latin American database for Spanish and Portuguese publications.