Non-suicidal self-injury in trichotillomania and skin picking disorder

Trichotillomania and skin picking disorder have been characterized as body-focused repetitive behavior (BFRB) disorders (i.e., repetitive self-grooming behaviors that involve biting, pulling, picking, or scraping one's own hair, skin, lips, cheeks, or nails). Trichotillomania and skin picking disorder have also historically been classified, by some, as types of compulsive self-injury as they involve repetitive hair pulling and skin picking, respectively. The question of the relationship of these disorders to more conventional forms of self-injury such as cutting or self-burning remains incompletely investigated. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship of these two disorders with non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI).