Emotional response inhibition to self-harm stimuli interacts with momentary negative affect to predict nonsuicidal self-injury urges

2021 ◽  
pp. 103865
Author(s):  
Taylor A. Burke ◽  
Kenneth J.D. Allen ◽  
Ryan W. Carpenter ◽  
David M. Siegel ◽  
Marin M. Kautz ◽  
...  
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth Javad Dale Allen ◽  
D.Phil. Jill Miranda Hooley

Negative urgency, the self-reported tendency to act impulsively when distressed, increases risk for nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI). Prior research also suggests that NSSI is associated with impaired negative emotional response inhibition (NERI), a cognitive process theoretically related to negative urgency. Specifically, individuals with a history of NSSI had difficulty inhibiting behavioral responses to negative affective images in an Emotional Stop-Signal Task, but not to those depicting positive or neutral content. The present study sought to replicate this finding, determine whether this deficit extends to an earlier stage of NERI, and explore whether impairment in these two stages of emotional inhibitory control helps explain the relationship between negative urgency and NSSI. To address these aims, 88 adults with NSSI histories (n = 45) and healthy control participants (n = 43) without NSSI history or psychopathology completed a clinical interview, symptom inventories, an impulsivity questionnaire, and behavioral impulsivity tasks measuring early and late emotional response inhibition. The NSSI group had worse late NERI than the control group on the Emotional Stop-Signal Task, but no group differences were observed in early NERI on an Emotional Go/no-go task. However, both early and late stages of NERI accounted for independent variance in negative urgency. We additionally found that late NERI explained variance in the association between negative urgency and NSSI. These results suggest that impulsive behavior in NSSI may involve specifically impaired inhibitory control over negative emotional impulses during late response inhibition, and that this cognitive deficit might reflect one mechanism or pathway to elevated negative urgency among people who self-injure.


Author(s):  
Kenneth J.D. Allen ◽  
M. McLean Sammon ◽  
Kathryn R. Fox ◽  
Jeremy G. Stewart

Eating disorder (ED) symptoms often co-occur with nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI). This comorbidity is consistent with evidence that trait negative urgency increases risk for both of these phenomena. We previously found that impaired late-stage negative emotional response inhibition (i.e., negative emotional action termination or NEAT) might represent a neurocognitive mechanism for heightened negative urgency among people with NSSI history. The current study evaluated whether relations between negative urgency and ED symptoms similarly reflect deficits in this neurocognitive process. One hundred and five community adults completed an assessment of ED symptoms, negative urgency, and an emotional response inhibition task. Results indicated that, contrary to predictions, negative urgency and NEAT contributed independent variance to the prediction of ED symptoms, while controlling for demographic covariates and NSSI history. Worse NEAT was also uniquely associated with restrictive eating, after accounting for negative urgency. Our findings suggest that difficulty inhibiting ongoing motor responses triggered by negative emotional reactions (i.e., NEAT) may be a shared neurocognitive characteristic of ED symptoms and NSSI. However, negative urgency and NEAT dysfunction capture separate variance in the prediction of ED-related cognitions and behaviors, distinct from the pattern of results we previously observed in NSSI.


2021 ◽  
pp. 009385482199841
Author(s):  
Melinda Reinhardt ◽  
Zsolt Horváth ◽  
Boglárka Drubina ◽  
Gyöngyi Kökönyei ◽  
Kenneth G. Rice

Significantly higher rates of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) have been discovered among justice-involved juveniles. Our study aimed to discriminate homogeneous subgroups of justice-involved youth with different self-harm behavior characteristics based on latent class analysis. A total of 244 adolescents (92.6% boys; Mage = 16.99, SD = 1.28) in Hungarian juvenile detention centers completed measures of NSSI and dissociation. High-NSSI (Class 1; 9%), moderate-NSSI (Class 2; 42.6%), and low-NSSI (Class 3; 48.4%) profiles were detected relating to different forms of NSSI. Multiple comparisons showed that girls were members of Class 1 and 2 at higher rates and these subgroups showed significantly higher dissociation proportions than Class 3. Our findings pointed out diversity in self-harm profiles with different characteristics in terms of methods and severity of self-harm, experienced emotions, and other emotion regulation tendencies among justice-involved adolescents. These results suggest sophisticated treatment approaches to match variations in severity and presentation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 104
Author(s):  
Kenneth J. D. Allen ◽  
M. McLean Sammon ◽  
Kathryn R. Fox ◽  
Jeremy G. Stewart

Eating disorder (ED) symptoms often co-occur with non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). This comorbidity is consistent with evidence that trait negative urgency increases risk for both of these phenomena. We previously found that impaired late-stage negative emotional response inhibition (i.e., negative emotional action termination or NEAT) might represent a neurocognitive mechanism for heightened negative urgency among people with NSSI history. The current study evaluated whether relations between negative urgency and ED symptoms similarly reflect deficits in this neurocognitive process. A total of 105 community adults completed an assessment of ED symptoms, negative urgency, and an emotional response inhibition task. Results indicated that, contrary to predictions, negative urgency and NEAT contributed independent variance to the prediction of ED symptoms, while controlling for demographic covariates and NSSI history. Worse NEAT was also uniquely associated with restrictive eating, after accounting for negative urgency. Our findings suggest that difficulty inhibiting ongoing motor responses triggered by negative emotional reactions (i.e., NEAT) may be a shared neurocognitive characteristic of ED symptoms and NSSI. However, negative urgency and NEAT dysfunction capture separate variance in the prediction of ED-related cognitions and behaviors, distinct from the pattern of results we previously observed in NSSI.


2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 851-862 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Keenan ◽  
Alison E. Hipwell ◽  
Stephanie D. Stepp ◽  
Kristen Wroblewski

AbstractNonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a common behavior among females that has been shown to confer risk for continued self-injury and suicidal attempts. NSSI can be viewed conceptually as behavior that is pathognomonic with aggression and/or depression. Empirical research on concurrent correlates supports this concept: numerous and diverse factors are shown to be significantly associated with self-harm, including depression, emotion dysregulation, impulsivity, and aggression and other conduct problems, as well as environmental stressors such as bullying, harsh parenting, and negative life events. In the present study, we test hypotheses regarding developmental precursors (measured from ages 8 to 12 years) to NSSI in young adolescent girls (ages 13–14 years), specifically whether aggression, depression, and environmental stressors distinguish girls with and without self-harm, and whether there is evidence for multiple developmental pathways to NSSI. Data were derived from the longitudinal Pittsburgh Girls Study. In this community sample of girls, the prevalence of NSSI at ages 13 or 14 years of age was 6.0%. Initial levels in dimensions measured within the depression, aggression, and environmental stressor domains accounted for variance in NSSI in early adolescence. Changes over time in relational aggression and assertiveness were also significantly associated with risk for NSSI. To a large extent, adolescent NSSI was predicted by psychological deficits and stress exposure that began early in childhood. Risk indices were calculated using the 85th or 15th percentile. Close to 80% of girls who engaged in NSSI during adolescence were identified by at least one risk domain in childhood. A sizable proportion of adolescent girls who later engaged in NSSI had childhood risk scores in all three domains; the remaining girls with adolescent NSSI were relatively evenly distributed across the other risk domain profiles. The observation that multiple pathways to NSSI exist suggests that deficits underlying the behavior may vary and require different modes of prevention.


2020 ◽  
pp. 30-41
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Kukielka

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is defined as the direct, deliberate destruction of one’s own body tissue to inflict harm or pain without an underlying suicidal intent. NSSI may include such behaviors as cutting, scratching, biting, hitting, and head banging, and excludes suicidal gestures, accidental injuries, indirect self-harm behaviors (e.g., eating disorders or drug abuse), and socially accepted forms of body modification (e.g., piercing or tattooing). NSSI typically begins in adolescents around 13 or 14 years of age, and lifetime prevalence in the adolescent and young adult population is estimated to be 15% to 20%. Although NSSI does not always progress to or predict future suicidal behaviors, there is believed to be a link between the two, which makes this an important patient safety concern. NSSI has been observed in both the community and the clinical setting, although rates of NSSI are higher within the psychiatric population. NSSI may present as a symptom of numerous psychiatric conditions, including anxiety disorders; mood disorders; substance abuse; eating disorders; and personality disorders, such as borderline personality disorder (BPD).5 Although clinicians once considered NSSI primarily in the context of BPD, NSSI was added as a distinct condition in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5) in 2013. In 2019, analysts at the Patient Safety Authority (PSA) conducted and published a study of events submitted to the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System (PA-PSRS) involving patient self-harm in the nonpsychiatric setting.8 However, an analysis of events in PA-PSRS involving selfharm, and more specifically NSSI, in the psychiatric setting had yet to be undertaken. In this study, we conducted an indepth review and analysis of patient safety events involving NSSI among children and adolescents in the inpatient psychiatric setting that took place in 2019. The purpose of this study was to examine patient-specific factors, such as age and gender, as well as other contributing circumstances, such as interpersonal interactions, that may precipitate NSSI in this patient population.


Author(s):  
David Voon ◽  
Penelope Hasking

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) refers to intentional damage to the body without fatal intent. While distal factors such as genetic predisposition, emotional sensitivity, emotional reactivity and invalidating childhood environments may serve as risk factors, NSSI is primarily maintained by alleviation of intense negative emotional states, in the absence of alternative emotion regulation strategies. Currently, no specific NSSI intervention for adolescents exists; however, extant self-harm interventions have demonstrated promising, preliminary findings. Of note, the salient role of emotion regulation in the initiation and maintenance of NSSI suggests this may be a viable treatment target. While empirical evidence supports this in adult samples, replication in large-scale, randomized controlled trials with adolescent samples is required to inform best practice in treating NSSI among adolescents.


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