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Functions of Nonsuicidal Self‐Injury Are Differentially Associated with Suicide Ideation and Past Attempts among Childhood Trauma Survivors
Author(s) -
RoleyRoberts Michelle E.,
Zielinski Melissa J.,
Hurtado Gabriela,
Hovey Joseph D.,
Elhai Jon D.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
suicide and life‐threatening behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.544
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1943-278X
pISSN - 0363-0234
DOI - 10.1111/sltb.12306
Subject(s) - suicidal ideation , clinical psychology , psychology , poison control , suicide prevention , injury prevention , posttraumatic stress , psychiatry , human factors and ergonomics , medicine , medical emergency
Research into factors for suicide has revealed relations between trauma exposure and suicidality (e.g., Bridge, Goldstein, & Brent, [Bridge, J. A., 2006]; Joiner, Sachs‐Ericson, Wingate, Brown, Anestis, & Selby, [Joiner Jr. T. E., 2007]) wherein painful and provocative experiences (e.g., nonsuicidal self‐injury [ NSSI ]) are an important link (e.g., Van Orden, Witte, Cukrowicz, Braithwaite, Selby, & Joiner, [Van Orden, K. A., 2010]; Smith, [Smith, P. N., 2013]). No prior research has assessed the relationship between functions of NSSI and suicidality among childhood trauma survivors. Participants who endorsed childhood trauma exposure ( N = 121; M age = 18.69, range 18–22) completed measures of posttraumatic stress disorder ( PTSD ) symptoms, NSSI , and suicidality. Multiple regressions assessing whether the four functions of NSSI predicted suicide ideation and past attempts after controlling for PTSD symptom severity found that only social negative reinforcement was associated with SI ( β = .304, SE = .243, t = 2.23, p = .028), while only automatic negative reinforcement was associated with past attempts ( β = .470, SE = .066, t = 2.25, p = .028). Findings highlight the importance of assessing NSSI functions when assessing suicidality among trauma survivors.