The Relationship Among Shame, Nonsuicidal Self-Injury, and Suicidal Behaviors in Borderline Personality Disorder.

Shame has been individually linked to nonsuicidal self-injury and suicidal ideation and behavior and is highly prevalent in individuals with borderline personality disorder. The current study investigated the relationship between shame, nonsuicidal self-injury, and suicidal ideation in a sample of women with borderline personality disorder. Participants were 40 women recruited from a Women's Dialectical Behavior Therapy Partial Hospital Program in a psychiatric hospital in New England as part of a larger, six-month treatment development study. Results indicated that shame-proneness predicts nonsuicidal self-injury and suicidal ideation and behavior above and beyond the severity of borderline personality disorder symptoms, suggesting that shame may be an important treatment target for individuals with borderline personality disorder. Clinical implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed.