Emotional response inhibition to self-harm stimuli interacts with momentary negative affect to predict nonsuicidal self-injury urges. (July 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Burke, Taylor A.; Allen, Kenneth J.D.; Carpenter, Ryan W.; Siegel, David M.; Kautz, Marin M.; Liu, Richard T.; Alloy, Lauren B.
• Is Part Of: Behaviour research and therapy. Volume 142(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-07
• Subjects: Nonsuicidal self-injury -- Inhibitory control -- Emotional stop-signal task -- Urgency -- Negative affect -- Ecological momentary assessment; Cognitive therapy -- Periodicals; Psychotherapy -- Periodicals; 616.891
• DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2021.103865
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0005-7967

Abstract

Abstract: The current study investigated whether impaired emotional response inhibition to self-harm stimuli is a risk factor for real-time nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) urges. Participants were 60 university students with a history of repetitive NSSI. At baseline, participants completed an emotional stop-signal task assessing response inhibition to self-harm stimuli. Participants subsequently completed an ecological momentary assessment protocol in which they reported negative affect, urgency, and NSSI urge intensity three times daily over a ten-day period. Impaired emotional response inhibition to self-harm stimuli did not evidence a main effect on the strength of momentary NSSI urges. However, emotional response inhibition to self-harm images interacted with momentary negative affect to predict the strength of real-time NSSI urges, after adjusting for emotional response inhibition to neutral images. Our findings suggest that emotional response inhibition deficits specifically to self-harm stimuli may pose vulnerability for increased NSSI urge intensity during real-time, state-level negative affect. Highlights: We investigated emotional response inhibition to self-harm stimuli (ERI). ERI did not have a main effect on the momentary NSSI urge strength. ERI interacted with momentary negative affect (NA) to predict NSSI urge strength. ERI deficits may pose vulnerability for NSSI urges during real-time NA states.