رابطه بین تکانشگری خصلتی، حالات عاطفی منفی و مصرانه برای خودآزاری غیر از خودکشی: مطالعه دفتر خاطرات روزانه

Theories of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) and impulsivity suggest that individuals with high levels of negative urgency (e.g., those with a propensity to act rashly while experiencing negative affect) should experience the urge to engage in NSSI during negative affect states. However, previous research has not directly tested these predictions. This study used a daily diary methodology in a sample of individuals who engaged in NSSI in the last year. Participants completed self-report measures of trait impulsivity and subsequently made daily ratings of negative affect, sadness, guilt, and urge to engage in NSSI for 14 days. Our results indicated that for individuals high in negative urgency, daily sadness, but not guilt or general negative affect, was a positive predictor of urge to engage in NSSI. Meanwhile, for those low in negative urgency, sadness was unrelated to NSSI urge. Implications for theories of NSSI and treatment are discussed.

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is the intentional destruction of body tissue without suicidal intent (Nock, 2009). One theory as to why people engage in NSSI is that the behavior functions as a maladaptive strategy for coping with intense negative affect (NA; Chapman et al., 2006). Theories of impulsivity suggest that certain individuals may be more likely to engage in rash actions (e.g., NSSI) while experiencing intense affect (Cyders and Smith, 2008). Consistent with this, previous research has found evidence of increased levels of trait impulsivity in individuals with a history of NSSI (Glenn and Klonsky, 2010). However, to date, these studies have been cross-sectional and have not tested the trait by state interactions proposed by theory. To address limitations of the current research, we conducted a daily diary study to test the hypothesis that negative urgency and state affect would interact to predict daily NSSI outcomes.