Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a destructive behaviour engaged in by a large proportion of youth and young adults in current society. Despite previous work, the recent revision of the DSM does not include NSSI as a distinct syndrome; instead it remains in a category for disorders requiring additional research. Thus, in order to better understand the many etiological components underlying NSSI behaviour, still more investigation is required. To this end the current investigations aimed to further elaborate upon known links between NSSI behaviour and parent-child relationships from two perspectives: first, with regard to the overall quality of relationships with parents, and second, with specific focus on the impact of attachment representations of early relationships with parents. Though both perspectives have been investigated in the past, the current studies were developed to alleviate methodological limitations of the existing literature. Study 1 adopted a person-centered approach to examine patterns of perceived relationship quality reported by self-injuring youth based on the combination of multiple relational characteristics; these patterns were then compared with several indices related to different manifestations of NSSI behaviour. Results show heterogeneity in the perceptions of parent-child relationship quality in self-injurers, such that both negative and positive family backgrounds were implicated in the behaviour. Further analyses demonstrate that the level of risk presented by a self-injuring individual can be differentiated based on perceived quality of parent-child relationship. Study 2 investigated how individuals’ internalized states of mind regarding early attachment experiences are related to NSSI, with particular attention dedicated to the relative influences of child maltreatment and attachment representation. Attachment representations reflecting deficits in emotion regulation (preoccupied, unresolved/cannot classify) were most common in self-injurers. Moreover, self-reported childhood maltreatment and attachment states of mind independently contributed to the prediction of NSSI. Lastly, findings suggest that distinct relational influences characteristic of relationships with mothers and fathers are associated with NSSI. The two studies presented here significantly contribute to existing knowledge concerning parental influences in the etiology of NSSI. These investigations add to existing knowledge of NSSI, and may ultimately aid in preventing and treating this damaging behaviour.

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The present study examined presence of sexual assault history and perfectionism (viz., positive strivings & evaluative concerns) as predictors of self-destructive behaviors (viz., NSSI & suicidal behaviors) in a sample of 287 women college students. Results obtained from conducting a series of hierarchical regression analyses indicated several notable patterns. Sexual assault history was a consistent predictor of both NSSI and suicidal behaviors. Moreover, the inclusion of perfectionism was also found to consistently predict additional unique variance in NSSI and suicidal behaviors, even after accounting for sexual assault history. These patterns remained largely unchanged even after accounting for shared variance between NSSI and suicidal behaviors. Within the perfectionism set, evaluative concerns emerged as the most consistent unique predictor of both indices of self-destructive behavior. Finally, we did not find evidence for a significant Positive Strivings × Evaluative Concerns interaction effect in our analyses. Overall, our findings indicate that beyond the presence of sexual assault history, perfectionism remains an important predictor of self-destructive behaviors in women college students.

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), defined as the deliberate damaging or destruction of body tissue without intent to die, are common behaviors amongst youth. Although prior work has shown heightened response to negative outcomes and dampened response to positive outcomes across multiple methods, including behavioral and physiological measures, little is known about the neural processes involved in NSSI. This study examined associations between NSSI engagement and responsivity to rewards and losses in youth with and without a lifetime engagement in NSSI. We employed a task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study to examine differences between regions of interest (ROIs; ventral and dorsal striatum [VS, DS], anterior cingulate cortex [ACC], orbitofrontal cortex [OFC], ventrolateral and ventromedial prefrontal cortex [vlPFC; vmPFC], and insula) and whole-brain connectivity (utilizing bilateral DS, mPFC, and insula seed ROIs) in youth with and without NSSI. We used two reward tasks, in order to examine differences between groups across domains of reward (i.e., monetary and social). Additionally, we examined the specificity of the associations by controlling for dimensional levels of related psychopathology (i.e., aggression and depression). Results from the current study found that NSSI was associated with decreased activation following monetary gains in all ROIs. Further, these differences remained significant when controlling for comorbid psychopathology, including symptoms of aggression and depression. Finally, exploratory connectivity analyses found that NSSI was associated with differential connectivity between regions including the DS, vmPFC, insula, parietal operculum cortex, supramarginal gyrus, cerebellum, and central opercular cortex. Weakened connectivity between these regions could suggest deficits in inhibitory control of emotions in individuals with NSSI, as well as dysfunction in pain processing in individuals with NSSI, whereby these individuals experience pain as more salient or rewarding than individuals without NSSI. Although results did not support our hypotheses, findings suggest disrupted reward processes in youth with NSSI, contributing to our understanding of the role that reward processes may play in NSSI, in the engagement and reinforcement of these behaviors. We also conducted an extensive systematic review of the studies indexing neural structure and function in NSSI, summarizing the literature on the neurobiological correlates of several psychological processes implicated in NSSI engagement, including emotion processes, pain processes, executive processes, social processes, and reward processes. Results of the review highlighted the neural regions most consistently associated with NSSI, including the amygdala, insula, frontal, prefrontal, and orbitofrontal cortices, and the anterior cingulate, dorsal striatum, and ventral striatum. Additionally, data showed that NSSI is associated with greater emotional responses in negative situations, poorer down-regulation of negative emotions, and poorer inhibitory control over impulsive behaviors. Overall, findings suggest that NSSI is associated with maladaptive coping, and that this down-regulation of negative emotion resulting from NSSI may be experienced as rewarding and may serve to reinforce engagement in these behaviors. Finally, this review highlighted the importance of standardizing the methods of indexing neural structure and function in NSSI, specifically in terms of how NSSI is categorized, which comorbid disorders are examined, and how neuroimaging data are collected and analyzed, so that research in this area is comparable and reproducible. / Psychology

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Previous research has demonstrated associations between deliberate self-harm (DSH) and perfectionism, although most of that research used retrospective self-report measures of DSH, which are prone to various cognitive biases. Although perfectionism has been associated with alcohol abuse, no research has examined how alcohol intoxication may moderate the relation between perfectionism and DSH. The aims of this experimental study were to determine if perfectionism is associated with a laboratory analogue of DSH (the Self-Aggression Paradigm) and examine the role of alcohol intoxication as a potential moderator. Using archival data, blood alcohol content (BAC) was manipulated by randomly assigning participants to reach one of four target BACs. Results indicated that perfectionism was not associated with DSH (mean self-administered shock or number of “severe” shocks). There was no interaction between perfectionism and BAC. These findings are discussed within the context of the perfectionism measure’s psychometric characteristics and the strength of previous research findings.

The phenomenon of cutting is extremely complex, as is the care of those who engage in it. This work provides exhaustive knowledge of the kinds of clinical interpretations of cutting that exist and interventions offered to curb this maladaptive behavior. It empowers volunteer youth workers to feel more confident in responding to young women who are cutting. It also encourages those who work in evangelical Christian contexts to draw carefully, cautiously, and judiciously, from the resources of their faith tradition as their contribution to the care of young women who cut.

Non-suicidal self-injury and suicidal behavior are prevalent in young adults, and often constitute a continuum of self-destructiveness. Not all those who self-injure, however, engage in suicidal behaviors with intent to die, perhaps due to protective intrapersonal characteristics. We examined the role of one such potential buffer, social problem-solving ability, as a moderator of the association between non-suicidal self-injury and suicidal thoughts and attempts, hypothesizing that individuals with greater social problem-solving ability would report fewer suicidal behaviors in relation to self-harm. An ethnically diverse sample was recruited from a large, Northeastern urban university, and completed self-report questionnaires assessing non-suicidal self-injury, suicidal behaviors, and social problem-solving ability. Multivariate hierarchical regression analyses were conducted. For the entire sample, individuals with higher social problem-solving abilities reported fewer suicidal behaviors associated with non-suicidal self-injury. In ethnically stratified analyses, social problem-solving significantly moderated the relationship between self-injury and suicidal behaviors for Whites and Hispanics only. Promotion of problem-solving skills may weaken the linkage between self-injury and potential for future suicidal behaviors for some individuals; however, culture-specific differences in this effect may exist.

<p>Studien handlar om självskadebeteende. Syftet med undersökningen var att få reda på vilka yttre faktorer som påverkade tre unga tjejer att börja skada sig själva. Forskningen på området anser att personer börjar skada sig själva pågrund av sexuella övergrepp i ung ålder, men det framgår tydligt i resultatet att sexuella övergrepp i detta fall inte påverkade tjejerna i studien. Till grund för tjejernas destruktiva beteende ligger traumatiska händelser i deras uppväxt både i lågstadieålder samt högstadieålder.</p><p>Metoden som användes i studien var semistrukturerade intervjuer eftersom intervjuaren då kan rikta sin fulla uppmärksamhet mot respondenten.</p><p>Resultatet är utformat på ett narrativt sätt vilket gjorde att resultatet kunde presenteras i berättelseform. I resultatet framkom vilka yttre påverkansfaktorer som påverkade tjejerna att börja skada sig, som till exempel föräldrars skilsmässa, eller plötslig död i deras nära omgivning.</p>