The Role of Cognitive Distortion in the Relationship Between Abuse, Assault, and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between childhood abuse, assault, cognitive distortion, and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in a clinical adolescent sample. The sample included one hundred eighty-five psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents and their parents. Adolescent participants were predominantly female (71.4%), Caucasian (84%), and of non-Hispanic ethnicity (9.2%). Participants completed a diagnostic interview and self-report measures to assess youth history of abuse and assault, cognitive errors, negative self-views, and recent NSSI. No relationship was found between childhood abuse and NSSI. However, a history of assault was associated with NSSI among youth who reported higher cognitive errors and more negative self-views, even after controlling for gender and internalizing disorders. These results suggest that existing affect regulation models of NSSI may be enhanced by incorporating the role of cognitive distortion. Clinically, results also suggest that assessing adolescent victims of assault for cognitive errors and negative self-views, and helping them restructure these cognitive distortions when present, may reduce the likelihood of NSSI.

Cognitive and Social Factors Associated with NSSI and Suicide Attempts in Psychiatrically Hospitalized Adolescents

“…The methods used in this study have been described in a prior publication (Weismoore & Esposito-Smythers, 2010). Participants were 185 adolescents (ages 13 to 18) recruited from a psychiatric inpatient facility in the northeastern United States.…”

The role of adverse childhood experiences as determinants of non-suicidal self-injury among children and adolescents referred to community and inpatient mental health settings

“…The phenomenon of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), which is generally defined as "the direct, deliberate destruction of one's own body tissue in the absence of suicidal intent" (Nock & Favazza, 2009, p. 9), is now recognized globally as a major public health issue, with up to 70% of children and adolescents with mental health problems engaging in NSSI (Kaess et al, 2013;Thomassin, Shaffer, Madden, & Londi, 2016;Weismoore & Esposito-Smythers, 2010;Zetterqvist, Lundh, & Svedin, 2014). Historically, NSSI has been…”

The mediating effect of depressive symptoms on the relationship between bullying victimization and non-suicidal self-injury among adolescents: Findings from community and inpatient mental health settings in Ontario, Canada

“…Various studies from Asia (You and Leung, 2012), Australia (Tanner et al, 2015), Canada (Armiento et al, 2014), Europe , and the US (Sornberger et al, 2012;Brausch and Gutierrez, 2010) have found lifetime prevalence rates of NSSI among adolescent students ranges between 10-32%. Higher rates have been reported among adolescents from clinical settings ranging from 24% in Canada (Armiento et al, 2016), to 40% in Europe (Kaess et al, 2013), and 63-80% in the US (Auerbach et al, 2014;Victor et al, 2012;Weismoore and Esposito-Smythers, 2010). Swannell et al (2014) conducted a systematic review of published studies on NSSI across the globe and found a pooled lifetime prevalence estimate of NSSI among adolescents to be 17.2%.…”