Abstract
Abstract.Background: Although nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is known to be associated with increased risk of death by suicide and suicide attempts, minimal research has focused on comparing recent suicide attempters with and without NSSI on suicide attempt characteristics (frequency and severity of suicide attempts). Understanding how NSSI impacts suicide attempt characteristics can help providers to enhance their assessment and treatment strategies so as to prevent future suicidal behaviors. Aims: The present study investigated the extent to which a history of NSSI was related to the frequency and severity of suicide attempts in a sample of recent suicide attempters. Method: Participants included 171 adult patients who presented to the hospital within 24 hr of a suicide attempt. Information about their suicide attempts and NSSI was gathered using self-report questionnaires and interviews. Results: Suicide attempters with a history of NSSI reported significantly more suicide attempts and more suicide attempts requiring medical attention, after controlling for important clinical covariates. Conclusion: NSSI was uniquely associated with suicide attempt characteristics, highlighting the importance of NSSI in suicide assessment, prevention, and treatment efforts.
References
2010). Nonsuicidal self-injury, attempted suicide, and suicidal intent among psychiatric inpatients. Psychiatry Research, 178, 101–105. 10.1016/j.psychres.2010.03.019
(2015). How many times and how many ways: The impact of number of nonsuicidal self-injury methods on the relationship between nonsuicidal self-injury frequency and suicidal behavior. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 45, 164–177. 10.1111/sltb.12120
(1996). BDI-II manual. San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation, Harcourt Brace & Company.
(2008). Perspectives of mental health professionals and patients on self-injury in psychiatry: A literature review. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 22, 180–189. 10.1016/j.apnu.2007.07.006
(2015). Suicide: Facts at a Glance. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury and Prevention Control.
. (2009). A test of the reactive aggression-suicidal behavior hypothesis: Is there a case for proactive aggression? Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 118, 235–240. 10.1037/a0014659
(2005). Why people die by suicide. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
(2012). Nonsuicidal self-injury, suicidal behavior, and their co-occurrence as viewed through the lens of the interpersonal theory of suicide. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 21, 342–347. 10.1177/0963721412454873
(2015). Suicide after nonfatal self-harm: A population case-control study examining hospital care and patient characteristics. Crisis, 36, 65–70. 10.1027/0227-5910/a000285
(2013). The relationship between nonsuicidal self-injury and attempted suicide: converging evidence from four samples. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 122I, 231–237. 10.1037/a0030278
(1997). National longitudinal study of adolescent health, wave 1: Users manual for the CD-Rom (1st ed.). Los Altos, CA: Sociometrics Corporation.
(2005). Accident and emergency staff's perceptions of deliberate self-harm: Attributions, emotions and willingness to help. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 44, 255–267. 10.1348/014466505X29620
(2014). The baby or the bath water?: Lessons learned from the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention Research Prioritization Task Force literature review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 47, S115–S121. 10.1016/j.amepre.2014.05.023
(2013). Association of training on attitudes towards self-injuring clients across health professionals. Archives of Suicide Research, 17, 462–468. 10.1080/13811118.2013.801815
(2007). The self-injurious thoughts and behavior interview: Development, reliability, and validity in an adolescent sample. Psychological Assessment, 19, 309–317. 10.1037/1040-3590.19.3.309
(1993). Development of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT): WHO collaborative project on early detection of persons with harmful alcohol consumption–II. Addiction, 88, 791–804. 10.1111/j.1360-0443.1993.tb02093.x
(2007). Rebuilding the tower of babel: A revised nomenclature for the study of suicide and suicidal behaviors part 2: Suicide-related ideations, communications, and behaviors. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 37, 264–277. 10.1521/suli.2007.37.3.264
(2003). Characterizing aggressive behavior. Assessment, 10, 183–190. 10.1177/1073191103010002009
(2001). Are suicide attempters who self-mutilate a unique population? The American Journal of Psychiatry, 158, 427–432. 10.1176/appi.158.3.427
(2014). Treating nonsuicidal self-injury: A systematic review of psychological and pharmacological interventions. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 59, 576–585.
(2014). Correlates of suicide attempts among self-injurers: A meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 34, 282–297. 10.1016/j.cpr.2014.03.005
(2014). Professional counselors' conceptualizations of the relationship between suicide and self-injury. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 36, 263–282. 10.17744/mehc.36.3.gu7443803l0581u5
(