Trajectories of nonsuicidal self‐injury during adolescence

Abstract

Objective: Although nonsuicidal self-injury is a public health concern, there is little information on how it changes across adolescence or what contributes to stability or change. We aimed to identify trajectories of stability and change in self-injury from ages 13 to 17 years, and to identify interpersonal and intrapersonal correlates that differentiate between trajectories of stability and change. Method: We used five annual waves of cohort-sequential data, targeting 7th and 8th graders attending all public schools in three municipalities in central Sweden. The data were gathered via questionnaires, using a multi-item measure of non-suicidal self-injury and assessing negative experiences at home, in school, with peers, and in romantic settings, as well as intrapersonal issues (internalizing symptoms and difficulties with emotional, and behavioral regulation). The analytic sample was 3195 adolescents (51.7% boys, 48.3% girls; ages 12-16 years at T1, M = 13.61; SD = 0.66), most of whom were born in Sweden (88.6%) to at least one parent of Swedish origin (77.4%). Results: Latent growth curve modeling revealed three self-injury trajectories: a stablelow, a low-increasing, and an increasing-decreasing trajectory. Adolescents in the stable-low class reported the best overall adjustment at ages 13 and 16. Comparatively, adolescents in the other two classes reported similar levels of difficulty interpersonally and intrapersonally. Where they differed, the increase-decrease class fared worse than the low-increasing class. Conclusions: This study suggests the need to frame self-injury as having multiple directions of development during adolescence and develop theory that aligns with differential patterns of self-injury development.

You’re not alone: imagery rescripting for adolescents who self-harm

“…This aligns with the core premise of IR, which focuses on fulfilling emotional needs by transforming intrusive, negative imagery into more positive mental images ( Holmes et al, 2007 ). However, it is imperative to take the possibility of spontaneous remission from NSSI into account, which may be attributed to variables such as brain maturation ( Margit et al, 2023 ), external and social influences such academic distress, or familial conflicts ( Tilton-Weaver et al, 2023 ). In order to be able to provide a more precise conclusion about treatment effects following IR as well as external factors contributing to spontaneous remission, future randomized controlled trials are needed including a larger sample size.…”

Measurement and stratification of nonsuicidal self-injury in adolescents

“…Risk factors for belonging to the group that continued with NSSI included female sex and symptoms of depression and anxiety during adolescence. Tilton-Weaver [ 46 ] further identified three separate trajectories of NSSI between 13 and 17 years of age, one with NSSI peaking around the age of 15 and then declining, a second escalating throughout the teenage years and a third trajectory on a low but steady level.…”

“…As is evident from the studies presented above, there is in the research field a growing interest in identification of subgroups among individuals engaging in NSSI. Several authors point out that knowledge of risk factors and predictors associated with different NSSI subgroups and trajectories is crucial to the planning of treatment and prevention strategies [ 46 – 48 ].…”

Does bullying victimization accelerate adolescents’ non-suicidal self-injury? The mediating role of negation emotions and the moderating role of submissive behavior

“…Non-suicidal self-injury is a common behavior that threatens the health of adolescents (Tilton- Weaver et al, 2023). It refers to an individual intentionally destroys body tissues repeatedly without suicidal intention (Nock, 2009).…”