Non-suicidal self-injury, or NSSI, is defined as the direct destruction of body tissue without conscious suicidal intent, according to lead author Elizabeth Lloyd-Richardson, of The Miriam Hospital and The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, in Providence, R.I.

Nearly half of the 633 high school students in the South and Midwest, who voluntarily and anonymously completed a survey administered by the researchers, said they did some form of NSSI.

"The findings are important because it suggests that NSSI is more prevalent among adolescents in the general population than previously thought," Lloyd-Richardson said in a statement.

Although NSSI is commonly encountered in inpatient and outpatient psychiatric and other institutionalized settings, little research has looked at NSSI in community samples, according to Psychological Medicine.

Lloyd-Richardson said the findings are "essentially a wake-up call to take better notice of these behaviors in the community and learn how to help teens manage stress without harming themselves."