Identifying Risk for Self‐Harm: Rumination and Negative Affectivity in the Prospective Prediction of Nonsuicidal Self‐Injury

Research suggests nonsuicidal self‐injury (NSSI) may function as a maladaptive strategy to regulate negative emotions, and individuals high in trait negative affectivity (NA) may be particularly at risk. Rumination, a cognitive emotion regulation strategy, may amplify negative affect, increasing the likelihood of NSSI. The current study found that high NA and high rumination interacted to predict both likelihood of engagement in NSSI and frequency of NSSI. This study provides support for the joint contribution of cognitive and temperamental factors impacting the relationship between NA and NSSI and suggests that interventions targeted at maladaptive emotion regulation strategies may help inform individualized treatment.     

An Open Pilot Feasibility Study of a Brief Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills–Based Intervention for Suicidal Individuals

This open trial sought to develop and evaluate the preliminary feasibility and effectiveness of a brief, one‐time, dialectical behavior therapy skills–based intervention with specific focus on ensuring acceptability to nontreatment‐seekers. Treatment‐seeking and nontreatment‐seeking suicidal individuals were recruited successfully from the community. Both groups found the intervention valuable. Suicide ideation was significantly lower at the 1‐month follow‐up, while use of the specific skills taught in the intervention increased significantly across time points. These results suggest that the intervention is both acceptable to the target population and that it has potential effectiveness as an intervention for individuals experiencing suicidal ideation.