Journal article

Ecological Momentary Assessment of Nonsuicidal Self-Injury in Youth with Borderline Personality Disorder

HE Andrewes, C Hulbert, SM Cotton, J Betts, AM Chanen

Personality Disorders Theory Research and Treatment | EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING FOUNDATION-AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOC | Published : 2017

Abstract

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is highly prevalent among individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD). The aim of this study was to investigate the cognitive, emotional, and contextual experience of NSSI in 107 youth (aged 15-25 years) with BPD who had minimal prior exposure to treatment. Using ecological momentary assessment, participants completed a randomly prompted questionnaire about their affect, selfinjurious thoughts, and behaviors six times per day for 6 days. Twenty-four youth with BPD engaged in 52 counts of NSSI, with 56 motives identified. Open-ended questions revealed that on occasions of NSSI, a large minority of participants could identify neither their motives (27%..

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Grants

Awarded by National Health and Medical Research Council


Funding Acknowledgements

This project was conducted within a study supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) project grant (GNT0628739). Professor Sue Cotton is supported by an NHMRC Career Development Fellowship (APP1061998). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent official views of the NHMRC. A special thanks to the patients, families, and staff of the HYPE Program at Orygen Youth Health and headspace Western Melbourne. We also thank Sharnel Perera, Sinn Yuin Chong, Victoria Rayner, and Francesca Kuperman for their assistance with data collection.