Lifetime and Current Predictors of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Among College Students

Abstract

Informed by previous research on non-suicidal self-injury, researchers in the current study sought to understand further the relationships between non-suicidal self-injury, self-esteem, anxiety, and biological sex among college students. Further, the researchers were interested in both current non-suicidal self-injury engagement and lifetime non-suicidal self-injury engagement, which could provide information on prevalence before and after commencing college. In order to examine the predictive relationships between lifetime non-suicidal self-injury engagement, current non-suicidal self-injury engagement, self-esteem, anxiety, and biological sex, participants completed several instruments assessing aforementioned variables. Results yielded that non-suicidal self-injury engagement rate was higher before commencing college. It was further found that while trait anxiety was a significant predictor for current non-suicidal self-injury occurrence, self-esteem was a significant predictor of lifetime non-suicidal self-injury occurrence. Concerning non-suicidal self-injury functions, affect regulation was the leading reason to engage in non-suicidal self-injury followed by self-punishment and anti-dissociation/marking distress.

Keywords

• non-suicidal self-injury
• anxiety
• self-esteem
• college students

Üniversite Öğrencileri arasında Kendini Yaralama Davranışının Yordayıcıları

Abstract

Bu çalışmada kendini yaralama davranışı ile ilgili önceki araştırmalardan elde edilen bilgiler doğrultusunda üniversite öğrencileri arasında kendini yaralama, benlik saygısı, kaygı ve cinsiyet arasındaki ilişkileri daha derinlemesine incelenmiştir. Ayrıca, üniversiteye başlamadan önce ve üniversiteye başladıktan sonra kendini yaralama davranışının yaygınlığı hakkında bilgi sağlayabilecek mevcut ve yaşam boyu durum araştırılmıştır. Yaşam boyu kendini yaralama davranışı, mevcut kendini yaralama davranışı, benlik saygısı, kaygı ve cinsiyet arasındaki öngörücü ilişkileri incelemek için, katılımcılardan yukarıda belirtilen değişkenleri değerlendiren ölçme araçları kullanılarak veri toplanmıştır. Araştırma sonuçlarına göre kendini yaralama davranışında bulunma olasılığının üniversiteye başlamadan önce üniversiteye başladıktan sonraya kıyasla daha yüksek olduğu görülmüştür. Ayrıca, sürekli kaygı mevcut kendini yaralama davranışı oluşumu için anlamlı bir yordayıcısı iken, benlik saygısının yaşam boyu kendini yaralama davranışı oluşumunun anlamlı bir yordayıcısı olduğu bulunmuştur. Kendini yaralama davranışı işlevleriyle ilgili olarak, önde gelen nedeninin duygu düzenlemesi olduğu bulunmuştur.

Keywords

• kendini yaralama
• kaygı
• benlik saygısı
• üniversite öğrencileri

References

1. Aizenman, M., & Jensen, M. A. C. (2007). Speaking through the body: The incidence of self-injury, piercing, and tattooing among college students. Journal of College Counseling, 10, 27-43. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-1882.2007.tb00004.x
2. American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). American Psychiatric Publishing.
3. Andover, M. S., Pepper, C. M., Ryabchenko, K. A., Orrico, E. G., & Gibb, B. E. (2005).Self mutilation and symptoms of depression, anxiety and borderline personality disorder. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 35 (5), 581-591. https://doi.org/10.1521/suli.2005.35.5.581
4. Bjärehed, J., Wångby‐Lundh, M., & Lundh, L. G. (2012). Nonsuicidal Self‐Injury in a community sample of adolescents: Subgroups, stability, and associations with psychological difficulties. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 22, 678-693. https://doi: 10.1111/j.1532-7795.2012.00817.x
5. Brown, M. Z., Comtois, K.A., & Linehan, M. M. (2002).Reasons for suicide attempts and nonsuicidal self-injury in women with borderline personality disorder. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 111, 198-202. https://doi: 10.1037//0021-843X.111.1.198
6. Cawood, C. D., & Huprich, S. K. (2011). Late adolescent nonsuicidal self-injury: The roles of coping style, self-esteem, and personality pathology. Journal of personality disorders, 25(6), 765-781. https://doi.org/10.1521/pedi.2011.25.6.765
7. Cipriano, A., Cella, S., & Cotrufo, P. (2017). Nonsuicidal self-injury: A systematic review. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 1946. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01946
8. Favazza, A. R. (2009). A cultural understanding of nonsuicidal self-injury. In Nock, M. K. (Ed.). Understanding nonsuicidal self-injury: Origins, assessment, and treatment. (pp. 19-36). American Psychological Association.

9. Glenn, C. R., & Klonsky, E. D. (2009). Social context during non-suicidal self-injury indicates suicide risk. Personality and Individual Differences, 46, 25-29. https://doi:10.1016/j.paid.2008.08.020
10. Glenn, C. R., & Klonsky, E. D. (2010a). A multimethod analysis of impulsivity in non-suicidal self-injury. Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment, 1, 67-75. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017427
11. Glenn, C. R., & Klonsky, E. D. (2010b). The role of seeing blood in non‐suicidal self‐injury. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 66, 466-473. https://doi: 10.1002/jclp.20661
12. Glenn, C. R., & Klonsky, E. D. (2011). One-year test-retest reliability of the Inventory of Statements about Self-Injury (ISAS). Assessment, 18, 375-378. https:// doi: 10.1177/1073191111411669
13. Gollust, S. E., Eisenberg, D., & Golberstein, E. (2008). Prevalence and correlates of self-injury among university students. Journal of American College Health, 56, 491- 498. https://doi: 10.3200/JACH.56.5.491-498
14. Gratz, K. L. (2001). Measurement of deliberate self-harm: Preliminary data on the deliberate self-harm inventory. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 23(4), 253-263. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1012779403943
15. Gratz, K. L., Conrad, S. D., & Roemer, L. (2002). Risk factors for deliberate self‐harm among college students. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 72(1), 128-140. https://doi.org/10.1037/0002-9432.72.1.128
16. Gratz, K. L., & Chapman, A. L. (2007). The role of emotional responding and childhood maltreatment in the development and maintenance of deliberate self-harm among male undergraduates. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 8, 1-14. https://doi: 10.1037/1524-9220.8.1.1
17. Harrison, K.D., (2009). Self injury among a college population: The role of attachment, self-esteem, and emotional expression as risk factors. Doctorate dissertation, Roosevelt University.
18. Hasking, P.,Momeni, R., Swannell, S., & Chia, S. (2008). The nature and extent of non-suicidal self-injury in a non-clinical sample of young adults. Archives of Suicide Research, 12, 208-218. https://doi:10.1080/13811110802100957
19. Heath, N. L., Schaub, K., Holly, S., & Nixon, M. K. (2009). Self injury today: Review of population and clinical studies in adolescents. In Nixon, M. K., & Heath, N. L. (Eds.), Self-injury in youth: The essential guide to assessment and intervention (pp. 9-28). Routledge Press.
20. Hilt, L. M., Cha, C. B., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2008a). Nonsuicidal self-injury in young adolescent girls: moderators of the distress-function relationship. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 76, 63-71. https://doi: 10.1037/0022-006X.76.1.63
21. Hilt, L. M., Nock, M. K., Lloyd–Richardson, E. E., & Prinstein, M. J. (2008b). Longitudinal study of non-suicidal self-injury among young adolescents: Rates, correlates, and preliminary test of an interpersonal model. Journal of Early Adolescence, 28(3), 455-469. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431608316604
22. Hoff, E. R., & Muehlenkamp, J. J. (2009). Nonsuicidal self-injury in college students: The role of perfectionism and rumination. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 39, 576-587. https://doi: 10.1521/suli.2009.39.6.576
23. International Society for the Study of Self-injury. (2018). What is self-injury? https://itriples.org/about-self-injury/what-is-self-injury.
24. Klonsky, E. D., Oltmanns, T. F., & Turkheimer, E. (2003). Deliberate self-harm in a nonclinical population: Prevalence and psychological correlates. American Journal of Psychiatry, 160(8), 1501-1508. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.160.8.1501
25. Klonsky, E. D. (2007). The functions of deliberate self-injury: A review of the evidence. Clinical Psychology Review, 27, 226-239. https://doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2006.08.002
26. Klonsky, E. D., & Olino, T. M. (2008). Identifying clinically distinct subgroups of self-injurers young adults: A latent class analysis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 76, 22-27. https://doi: 10.1037/0022-006X.76.1.22
27. Klonsky E. D., & Glenn, K. R. (2009a). Assessing the functions of non-suicidal self-injury: psychometric properties of the inventory of statements about self-injury (ISAS). Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 31, 215-219. https://doi: 10.1007/s10862-008-9107-z
28. Klonsky E. D., & Glenn, K. R. (2009b). Psychosocial risk and protective factors. In Nixon, M. K., & Heath, N. L. (Eds.), Self-injury in youth: The essential guide to assessment and intervention (pp. 45-58). Routledge Press.
29. Klonsky, E. D. (2011). Non-suicidal self-injury in United States adults: Prevalence, sociodemographics, topography and functions. Psychological Medicine, 41, 1981-1986. https://doi:10.1017/S0033291710002497
30. Klonsky, E. D., Muehlenkamp, J. J., Lewis, S. P., & Walsh, B. (2011). Nonsuicidal self-injury. Hogrefe.
31. Laye-Gindhu, A., & Schonert-Reichl, K. A. (2005). Nonsuicidal self-harm among community adolescents: Understanding the ‘‘whats’’ and ‘‘whys’’ of self-harm. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 34, 447-457. https://doi: 10.1007/s10964-005-7262-z
32. Lundh, L. G., Karim, J., & Quilisch, E. (2007). Deliberate self-harm in 15-year-old adolescents: A pilot study with a modified version of the deliberate self-harm inventory. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 48, 33-41. https://doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9450.2006.00567.x
33. Muehlenkamp, J. J., & Gutierez, P. M. (2004). An investigation of differences between self-injurious behaviors and suicide attempts in a sample of adolescents. Suicide and Life Threatening Behavior, 34(1), 12-23. https://doi.org/10.1521/suli.34.1.12.27769
34. Muehlenkamp, J. J., & Gutierrez, P. M. (2007). Risk for suicide attempts among adolescents who engage in non-suicidal self-injury. Archives of Suicide Research, 11, 69-82. https://doi: 10.1080/13811110600992902
35. Nixon, M. K., Cloutier, P. F., & Aggarwai, S. (2002). Affect regulation and addictive aspects of repetitive self-injury in hospitalized adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 41, 1333-1341. https://doi.10.1097/01.CHI.0000024844.60748
36. Nixon, M. K., Cloutier, P., & Jansson, M. (2008). Nonsuicidal self-harm in youth: A population-based survey. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 178, 306-312. https://doi. 10.1503/cmaj.061693
37. Nixon, M. K., & Heath, N. L. (Eds.). (2009). Self-injury in youth: The essential guide to assessment and intervention. Routledge Press.
38. Nock, M. K., & Prinstein, M. J. (2004). A functional approach to the assessment of self-mutilative behavior. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 72, 885-890. https://doi: 10.1037/0022-006X.72.5.885
39. Nock, M. K. (2010). Self-injury. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 6, 339-363. https://doi.10.1146/annurev.clinpsy.121208.131258
40. Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton University Press.
41. Rosenberg, M. (1979). Conceiving the self. Basic Books.
42. Rosenberg, M. (1989). Society and the adolescent self-image (2nd ed.). Wesleyan University Press.
43. Ross, S., & Heath, N. (2002). A study of the frequency of self-mutilation in a community sample of adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 31, 67-77. https://doi. 0047-2891/02/0200-0067/0
44. Scoliers, G., Portzky, G., Madge, N., Hewitt, A., Hawton, K., de Wilde, E. J.,…, & van Heeringen, K. (2009). Reasons for adolescent deliberate self-harm: A cry of pain and/or a cry for help? Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 44, 601-607. https://doi: 10.1007/s00127-008-0469-z
45. Serras, A., Saules, K. K., Cranford, J. A., & Eisenberg, D. (2010). Self-injury, substance use, and associated risk factors in a multi-campus probability sample of college students. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 24, 119-128. https://doi: 10.1037/a0017210
46. Spielberg, D. C. (Ed). (1972). Anxiety: current trends in theory and research. Academic Press.
47. Spielberg, D. C. (1983). State- trait anxiety inventory for adults. Menlo Park, CA: Mind Garden.
48. Tatnell, R., Kelada, L., Hasking, P. & Martin, G. (2014). Longitudinal analysis of adolescent NSSI: The role of intrapersonal and interpersonal factors. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 42, 885–896. https://doi:10.1007/s10802-013-9837-6
49. Turner, B. J., Chapman, A. L., & Layden, B. K. (2012). Intrapersonal and interpersonal functions of non suicidal self‐injury: Associations with emotional and social functioning. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 42, 36-55. https://doi: 10.1111/j.1943-278X.2011.00069.x
50. Victor, S. E., Glenn, C. R., & Klonsky, E. D. (2012). Is non-suicidal self-injury an “addiction”? A comparison of craving in substance use and non-suicidal self-injury. Psychiatry Research, 197, 73-77. https://doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2011.12.011
51. Walsh, B. W. (2012). Treating self-injury: A practical guide. (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
52. Weinberg, A., & Klonsky, E. D. (2012). The effects of self-injury on acute negative arousal: A laboratory simulation. Motivation and Emotion, 36, 242-254. https://doi 10.1007/s11031-011-9233-x
53. Whitlock, J., Eckenrode, J., & Silverman, D. (2006). Self-injurious behaviors in a college population. Pediatrics, 117, 1939-1948. https://doi: 10.1542/peds.2005-2543
54. Whitlock, J., Muehlenkamp, J., & Eckenrode (2008). Variation in nonsuicidal self-injury: Identification and features of latent classes in a college population of emerging adults. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 37, 725-735. https://doi: 10.1080/15374410802359734
55. Whitlock, J., Muehlenkamp, J., Purington, A., Eckenrode, J., Barreira, P., Baral-Abrams, G., Marchell, T., Kress, V., Girard, K., Chin, C., & Knox, K (2011). Nonsuicidal self-injury in a college population: General trends and sex differences. Journal of American College Health, 59, 691-698. https://doi: 10.1080/07448481.2010.529626
56. Wilcox, H. C., Arria, A. M., Caldeira, K. M., Vincent, K. B., Pinchevsky, G. M., & O'Grady, K. E. (2012). Longitudinal predictors of past-year non-suicidal self-injury and motives among college students. Psychological Medicine, 42, 717-726. https://doi:10.1017/S0033291711001814