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This investigation examined process-level pathways to nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI; e.g., selfcutting, -burning, -hitting) in 2 cohorts of suburban, upper-middle-class youths: a cross-sectional sample of 9th-12th graders (n = 1,036, 51.9% girls) on the West Coast and a longitudinal sample followed annually from the 6th through 12th grades (n = 245, 53.1% girls) on the East Coast. High rates of NSSI were found in both the cross-sectional (37.2%) and the longitudinal (26.1%) samples. Zero-inflated Poisson regression models estimated process-level pathways from perceived parental criticism to NSSI via youth-reported alienation toward parents. Pathways toward the initiation of NSSI were distinct from those accounting for its frequency. Parental criticism was associated with increased NSSI, and youth alienation toward parents emerged as a relevant process underlying this pathway, particularly for boys. The specificity of these pathways was explored by examining separate trajectories toward delinquent outcomes. The findings illustrate the prominence of NSSI among "privileged" youths, the salience of the caregiving environment in NSSI, the importance of parental alienation in explaining these relations, and the value of incorporating multiple systems in treatment approaches for adolescents who self-injure. Keywordsnonsuicidal self-injury; privileged youths; developmental psychopathology; delinquency; zeroinflated Poisson regression models In recent years, nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI; e.g., self-cutting, -burning, -hitting) has transcended the bounds of clinical wards and medical journals to reveal itself as a prominent and burgeoning health concern among community youths (Gratz, Conrad, & Roemer, 2002;Laye-Gindhu & Schonert-Reichl, 2005;Muehlenkamp & Guttierez, 2004; Ross & Heath, Copyright 2008 by the American Psychological Association Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Tuppett M. Yates, University of California, Department of Psychology, 2320 Olmsted Hall, Riverside, CA 92521. Tuppett.Yates@ucr.edu. Whitlock, Eckenrode, & Silverman, 2006). However, the extant literature on NSSI, particularly in community settings, has focused on descriptive studies to the relative neglect of theoretically informed, process-oriented investigations that recognize NSSI as both a developmental and clinical phenomenon. Addressing this gap in the literature, the present study examined putative developmental processes underlying self-injurious pathways in two cohorts of suburban, upper-middle-class youths: a cross-sectional sample of 9th-12th graders on the West Coast and a longitudinal sample that was followed annually from the 6th through 12th grades on the East Coast. HHS Public Access The Phenomenology of NSSIBuilding on previous definitions of NSSI (see Simeon & Favazza, 2001, for review), this study examined self-inflicted, direct, socially unacceptable destruction or alteration of body tissue that occurred in the absence of conscious suicidal intent or pervasive developmental disorder. Recent...

In conjunction with prospective ratings of child maltreatment (i.e., sexual abuse, physical abuse, and physical neglect) and measures of dissociation and somatization, this study examined prospective pathways between child maltreatment and nonsuicidal, direct self-injurious behavior (SIB; e.g., cutting, burning, self-hitting). Ongoing participants in the Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (N = 164; 83 males, 81 females) completed a semistructured interview about SIB when they were 26 years old. SIB emerged as a heterogeneous and prominent phenomenon in this low-income, mixed-gender, community sample. Child sexual abuse predicted recurrent injuring (i.e., three or more events; n = 13), whereas child physical abuse appeared more salient for intermittent injuring (i.e., one to two events; n = 13). Moreover, these relations appeared largely independent of risk factors that have been associated with child maltreatment and/or SIB, including child cognitive ability, socioeconomic status, maternal life stress, familial disruption, and childhood exposure to partner violence. Dissociation and somatization were related to SIB and, to a lesser degree, child maltreatment. However, only dissociation emerged as a significant mediator of the observed relation between child sexual abuse and recurrent SIB. The findings are discussed within a developmental psychopathology framework in which SIB is viewed as a compensatory regulatory strategy in posttraumatic adaptation.

While the overwhelming majority of research on the consequences of childhood maltreatment reports differential outcomes of specific maltreatment subtypes (e.g., physical abuse vs. emotional abuse) as though they are independent, maltreatment experiences often occur in combination. The present study evaluated multiple maltreatment experiences in a sample of 2,637 undergraduate students who reported on childhood maltreatment and current adjustment. The authors used latent class analysis to examine predominant patterns of multiple maltreatment experiences and investigated indices of psychosocial adjustment associated with those patterns. Results suggested that specific constellations of multiple maltreatment have qualitatively different associations with adjustment. Emotional abuse, alone or in combination with other maltreatment types, was especially salient for psychopathology (e.g., anxiety, depression), while a combination of physical and emotional abuse was most strongly associated with conduct-related problems (e.g., substance use, risky sexual behavior). These findings have both practical and empirical significance for understanding and classifying experiences of maltreatment.

Previous research suggests an association between partner violence and child behavior problems. However, methodological shortcomings have precluded the formation of directional conclusions. These limitations include failure to control for the effects of child physical abuse and general life stress, employment of nonrepresentative samples from battered women's shelters, and reliance on a single contemporaneous reporter, usually the mother, for information on both independent and dependent measures. This study used prospective, longitudinal data (N = 155) and multiple informants to examine the relation between maternal reports of partner violence in the home and teacher- and youth-report ratings of concurrent and prospective child behavior problems. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to control for the effects of child physical abuse, child physical neglect, socioeconomic status, child cognitive ability, and life stress. The contribution of partner violence to child behavior problems was confirmed for boys' (n = 81) externalizing problems and girls' (n = 74) internalizing problems. Child developmental status at the time of exposure further influenced these relations. For boys, behavior problems in middle childhood were most strongly related to contemporaneous partner violence, whereas behavior problems among both boys and girls at age 16 were most strongly related to partner violence exposure during the preschool years.

The developmental pathways linking maltreatment in early childhood and antisocial behavior in adolescence were examined using data from a longitudinal study of high-risk children and their families. Two developmental process variables, emotional/self-regulation (dysregulation) and establishing a close emotional relationship between the child and primary caregiver (alienation), were included in the model in an effort to better understand the pathway from maltreatment to antisocial behavior. The results indicated that alienation and, to a much lesser extent, dysregulation helped explain the relation between early maltreatment and later antisocial behavior. The model including the developmental process variables was a better representation of the data than the model considering only the direct effect between early maltreatment and later antisocial behavior. Physical abuse in early childhood, not emotional neglect, led to alienation in preschool, which then predicted early onset externalizing problems in the elementary school years, ultimately resulting in antisocial behavior in adolescence. One of the implications of these findings for preventing adolescent antisocial behavior is to intervene at an early age with a relationship-based program.

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