Deliberate self-harm, clinical history and extreme scoring on the EPQ

Nonsuicidal self-injury and its relation to personality traits in medical students

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) has a high prevalence among the general undergraduate population, but as yet, no study has investigated the rate of NSSI among medical students despite the high levels of depression and suicidal ideation found in this population. Our study aimed to estimate the prevalence of NSSI and suicide attempts in German medical students and explore the associations between these behaviors and the five major personality traits. Seven hundred fourteen medical students (67% women; age range, 18-35 years; mean age, 23.1 years) participated in an online survey. We report a lifetime prevalence of 14.3% for NSSI and 1.5% for suicide attempt. The students with NSSI showed higher levels of neuroticism and openness to experience but lower levels of conscientiousness and extraversion on the NEO Five-Factor Inventory. Our results are in line with previous research from other countries regarding the prevalence of NSSI among students and its association with personality.

Variety of self-injury: is the number of different methods of non-suicidal self-injury related to personality, psychopathology, or functions of self-injury?

This study explored the association between number of methods of Nonsuicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) and personality, psychopathology, and functions of NSSI. Two combined undergraduate samples reporting a history of NSSI (n = 149) completed measures of personality, psychopathology, and NSSI. A series of regression analyses indicated that Conscientiousness, Openness, and two functions of NSSI (i.e., Automatic Negative Reinforcement and Social Negative Reinforcement) shared significant relationships with the number of NSSI methods participants engaged in. These findings demonstrate that, after accounting for NSSI frequency, a relationship exists among specific personality factors, NSSI functions, and engagement in additional methods of NSSI.

Deliberate self-harm behavior among Italian young adults: correlations with clinical and nonclinical dimensions of personality

This study aims to explore rates of deliberate self-harm (DSH) behaviors and their psychological and psychopathological correlates within a sample of nonclinical young adults (N = 365; 63% women; M age = 23 ± 4.06). Participants completed the Deliberate Self-Harm Inventory and other self-report questionnaires assessing clinical (borderline personality, dissociative, and depersonalization traits) and nonclinical (body perception, behavioral inhibition and activation, cognitive emotional regulation, and the Big Five traits) dimensions of their personality. The rate of DSH in the present sample was 39%, comparable to that found in previous studies of young adults in other countries. Further, consistent with past research, DSH was found to be associated with clinical dimensions of personality pathology, including borderline personality and dissociative symptoms. Finally, results revealed an association between DSH and nonclinical dimensions of personality, including the behavioral activation dimension of fun-seeking, more negative body perception and lower body protection, the use of more nonadaptive cognitive strategies for regulating emotions, higher levels of openness to experience, and lower levels of emotional stability. This pattern of results is consistent with those found for other impulsive behaviors and impulse control disorders.

Prevalence and correlates of lifetime deliberate self-harm and suicidal ideation in naturalistic outpatients: the Leiden Routine Outcome Monitoring study

BACKGROUND

Deliberate self-harm and suicidal ideation (DSHI) are common phenomena in general and mental health populations. Identifying factors associated with DSHI may contribute to the early identification, prevention and treatment of DSHI. Aims of the study are to determine the prevalence and correlates of lifetime DSHI in a naturalistic sample of psychiatric outpatients with mood, anxiety or somatoform (MAS) disorders.

METHODS

Of 3798 consecutive patients from January 2004 to December 2006, 2844 (74.9%) patients were analyzed (mean age=37.5, SD=12.0; age range: 18-65; 62.7% women). Lifetime DSHI was assessed with routine outcome monitoring (ROM), including demographic parameters, DSM-IV diagnosis, depressive symptoms, symptoms of anxiety, general psychopathology and personality traits.

RESULTS

Of the 2844 subjects, 55% reported lifetime DSHI. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, the most important factors associated with lifetime DSHI were being unmarried, low education, high number of psychiatric diagnoses, lower anxiety scores, higher depression scores and the personality trait of emotional dysregulation.

LIMITATIONS

Deliberate self-harm may have been under-reported in self-report questionnaires; The assessment of personality traits may have been influenced by state psychopathology; traumatic events were not assessed.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings suggest that DSHI is common among psychiatric outpatients with MAS disorders and that current symptoms and underlying personality vulnerabilities were independently involved in DSHI. Whether symptoms of somatic anxiety are protective should be confirmed in subsequent studies. These findings may help clinicians in identifying patients at risk for deliberate self-harm and suicide.

Affective lability: separable from neuroticism and the other big four?

The goals of the current study were to use specific measures of affective lability and neuroticism to examine the nomological network surrounding both constructs and to test the degree to which a measure of general personality can account for variability in affective lability. Using a psychiatric outpatient sample (n=48), we assessed personality disorder (PD) symptoms, personality, and level of functioning across a range of domains. Neuroticism and affective lability demonstrated a small but significant positive correlation and manifested a divergent pattern of correlations with PDs and measures of functioning. Specifically, neuroticism was correlated primarily with Borderline, Avoidant and Dependent PDs, whereas affective lability was primarily correlated with Cluster B PDs. In addition, neuroticism evinced significant correlations with a range of functional impairments, whereas affective lability was correlated only with self-harm. Regression analyses demonstrated that a substantial portion of the variance in affective lability scales can be explained by Five-Factor Model domains, particularly if the narrower facets are used. The current findings suggest that neuroticism and affective lability are related but in a complex manner that involves other basic personality domains in addition to neuroticism.

Personality and non-suicidal deliberate self-harm: Trait differences among a non-clinical population

Limited information is available on understanding why particular individuals engage in non-suicidal deliberate self-harm (DSH), especially among non-clinical populations. An array of personality traits, such as those included in the five-factor model of personality, may further an understanding of DSH. The purpose of this study was to examine personality traits among non-clinical groups with or without a history of DSH. College students (N=238) completed self-report measures of DSH and personality. Both multivariate (MANOVA, discriminant analysis) and univariate (ANOVA) statistical procedures supported the hypothesis that those with a history of DSH (n=59) had significantly higher levels of neuroticism and openness to experience, and significantly lower levels of agreeableness and conscientiousness. Contrary to expectations, there were no differences in extraversion between the two groups. These results indicate personality differences among those with a history of DSH, which with additional research, may prove to be risk factors or targets of intervention for future DSH or collateral problems.

Past and recent deliberate self-harm: Emotion and coping strategy differences

Only limited information on nonsuicidal deliberate self-harm behavior among nonclinical populations is available, and it is unclear whether coping and emotional difficulties remain among those with a past history of self-harm behavior. The purpose of this study is to examine emotions and coping strategies among three nonclinical groups with a recent, past, and no history of nonsuicidal deliberate self-harm behavior. College students completed self-report measures of self-harm behavior, suicidal thoughts, emotional dispositions, and coping strategies. Contrary to expectations, there were few differences in coping strategies among the three groups ( p > .0033). Those with a recent history (n = 23; in the last 12 months) and past history (n = 32; more than 12 months ago) of self-harm behavior reported greater levels of negative emotion (e.g., hostility, guilt, sadness) than those who have never self-harmed (n = 161; p < .0045). This indicates that although self-harm behavior had discontinued (>12 months ago), negative emotion differences were present, and both recent and past self-harmers merit concern in managing their negative emotions to lower their risk for future difficulties.