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Open Access 01-08-2021 | Borderline Personality Disorder | Original Contribution

High-frequency ecological momentary assessment of emotional and interpersonal states preceding and following self-injury in female adolescents

Authors: Julian Koenig, Julia Klier, Peter Parzer, Philip Santangelo, Franz Resch, Ulrich Ebner-Priemer, Michael Kaess

Published in: European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry | Issue 8/2021

Abstract

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a considerable health problem among adolescents. Affect regulation by means of self-injury may promote the maintenance of NSSI. However, existing findings have limited ecological validity. The present study aimed to assess emotional and interpersonal states preceding and following incidents of NSSI in female adolescents. Adolescents with NSSI-disorder completed ecological momentary assessments of affective and interpersonal states on an hourly basis for multiple days. Multilevel mixed-effect regression analyses were conducted to assess antecedences and consequences of acts of self-injury. Data from n = 73 female adolescents covering a total of 52 acts of self-injury were available for analyses. The urge to self-injure on the between subject-level and negative affect on the within-level were best predictors of self-injury. Surprisingly, self-injury increased negative affect and decreased feelings of attachment (mother only) in the following hour. In line with findings in adults, results illustrate the important association between negative affect and self-injury in female adolescents. However, the occurrence of NSSI itself was related to concurrent increases in negative affect, and even prospectively predicted a consecutive increase in negative affect. Therefore, improvements of negative affect following (or during) self-injury, as previously reported, are at best short-lived (< 1 h).

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Title: High-frequency ecological momentary assessment of emotional and interpersonal states preceding and following self-injury in female adolescents
Authors: Julian Koenig
Julia Klier
Peter Parzer
Philip Santangelo
Franz Resch
Ulrich Ebner-Priemer
Michael Kaess
Publication date: 01-08-2021
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Keyword: Borderline Personality Disorder
Published in: European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry / Issue 8/2021
Print ISSN: 1018-8827
Electronic ISSN: 1435-165X
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-020-01626-0

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High-frequency ecological momentary assessment of emotional and interpersonal states preceding and following self-injury in female adolescents

Abstract

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