Prospective Risk for Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors among Vulnerable Populations Across the Lifespan
3 - (Sym 3) Co-occurrence of Nonsuicidal Self-injury and Disordered Eating Behaviors in a Non-clinical Sample: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Approach
Friday, November 18, 2022
8:00 AM – 9:30 AM EST
Location: O'Neill, 4th Floor
Keywords: Suicide, Self-Injury, Vulnerable Populations Recommended Readings: Banerjee, D., Kosagisharaf, J. R., & Rao, T. S. (2021). “The dual pandemic” of suicide and COVID-19: A biopsychosocial narrative of risks and prevention. Psychiatry Research, 295, 113577. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113577 Lantos, J. D., Yeh, H., Raza, F., Connelly, M., Goggin, K., & Sullivant, S. A. (2022). Suicide risk in adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pediatrics,149(2): e2021053486. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2021-053486
Vullier, L., May, L., Greville-Harris, M., Surman, R., & Moseley, R. L. (2021). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on individuals with eating disorders: The role of emotion regulation and exploration of online treatment experiences. Journal of Eating Disorders, 9(10), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-020-00362-9
Associate Professor George Mason University Fairfax, Virginia
Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) and eating disorders are highly comorbid. NSSI, binge eating, and restrictive eating/fasting behaviors share similar functions of emotion regulation. These behaviors are highly prevalent in non-clinical samples. NSSI and restriction may also be linked through mechanisms such as deliberate attempts of physical pain, increased pain tolerance, and acquired capability for suicide. Most studies that examine these co-occurring self-harming behaviors are cross-sectional and thus it is unclear how these behaviors interact temporally. The aim of this study was to examine how disordered eating behaviors and NSSI behaviors influence each other temporally in the natural environment in a non-clinical sample. We predicted that restriction would predict later NSSI on the same day. Undergraduate students (N = 45; 86% female) completed two weeks of ecological momentary assessment to assess the temporal relationship of within-day of restriction, NSSI, and binge eating. Data indicate that NSSI is less likely to occur on days in which binge eating occurred (B = -.38; SE = .17; p = .022). Restrictive eating did not significantly predict later NSSI, and NSSI did not predict later binge eating and restriction. It is possible that participants did not engage in NSSI on binge days because binge eating sufficiently reduced negative affect. Understanding how these behaviors interact temporally on a daily basis can inform prevention and treatment efforts.