Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27815757›Full record

SynthesisEuropean child & adolescent psychiatry2017

Impulsivity and self-harm in adolescence: a systematic review.

Joanna Lockwood, David Daley, Ellen Townsend, Kapil Sayal

Open access · hybridAbstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in European child & adolescent psychiatry, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 98 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
98citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
14.8field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

98 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 222 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Non-Suicidal Self-Injury in Adolescents: A Systematic Review on Prevention and Intervention Programmes.Journal of child and adolescent psychiatric nursing : official publication of the Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nurses, Inc · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Trial
  7. Trial
  8. Trial
  9. Trial
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Distress Tolerance and Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors: A systematic review and commentary on methodological challenges.Clinical psychology : a publication of the Division of Clinical Psychology of the American Psychological Association · 2026
    Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article

38 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Joanna LockwoodDivision of Psychiatry & Applied Psychology, Institute of Mental Health, University of Nottingham, Innovation Park, Triumph Road, Nottingham, NG7 2TU, UK. llxjll@nottingham.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0327-9898
David DaleyDivision of Psychiatry & Applied Psychology, Institute of Mental Health, University of Nottingham, Innovation Park, Triumph Road, Nottingham, NG7 2TU, UK.
Ellen TownsendSchool of Psychology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
Kapil SayalDivision of Psychiatry & Applied Psychology, Institute of Mental Health, University of Nottingham, Innovation Park, Triumph Road, Nottingham, NG7 2TU, UK.
University of Nottingham · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Research supports an association between impulsivity and self-harm, yet inconsistencies in methodology across studies have complicated understanding of this relationship. This systematic review examines the association between impulsivity and self-harm in community-based adolescents aged 11-25 years and aims to integrate findings according to differing concepts and methods. Electronic searches of EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsychINFO, CINAHL, PubMed and The Cochrane Library, and manual searches of reference lists of relevant reviews identified 4496 articles published up to July 2015, of which 28 met inclusion criteria. Twenty-four of the studies reported an association between broadly specified impulsivity and self-harm. However, findings varied according to the conception and measurement of impulsivity and the precision with which self-harm behaviours were specified. Specifically, lifetime non-suicidal self-injury was most consistently associated with mood-based impulsivity-related traits. However, cognitive facets of impulsivity (relating to difficulties maintaining focus or acting without forethought) differentiated current self-harm from past self-harm. These facets also distinguished those with thoughts of self-harm (ideation) from those who acted on thoughts (enaction). The findings suggested that mood-based impulsivity is related to the initiation of self-harm, while cognitive facets of impulsivity are associated with the maintenance of self-harm. In addition, behavioural impulsivity is most relevant to self-harm under conditions of negative affect. Collectively, the findings indicate that distinct impulsivity facets confer unique risks across the life-course of self-harm. From a clinical perspective, the review suggests that interventions focusing on reducing rash reactivity to emotions or improving self-regulation and decision making may offer most benefit in supporting those who self-harm.

Indexed as

Adolescent BehaviorAffectImpulsive BehaviorAdolescentFemaleHumansMaleSelf-Injurious BehaviorAdolescenceImpulsivityNon-suicidal self-injurySelf-harmUrgency

Identifiers

PMID27815757
PMCPMC5364241
OpenAlexW2546640541

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.