Especially among girls, the adolescent transition is associated with dramatic increases in the prevalence of suicidal ideation, and several forms of self-injury, including non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI;i.e., self-mutilation), suicidal gestures, threats, and attempts. This study proposes, and will test a theoretical model suggesting that biological and cognitive responses to social stressors explain the association between psychopathology (i.e., depression) and self-injury (i.e., mediation) and that specific interactions between stress responses (i.e., moderation) will help identify which girls with psychopathology are most likely to engage in self-injury longitudinally. Specific combinations of cognitive and biological stress responses are proposed to uniquely identify risks for different types of self-injury/suicidality (i.e., NSSI vs. suicidal ideation). Moreover, this study will examine trajectories of, and associations among self-injury constructs, addressing several limitations of past work.
The aims of this research thus address several of the goals outlined in PA # 07-079, Research on the Reduction and Prevention of Suicidality as well as many of the goals articulated the NIMH Strategic Plan (NIMH, 2008) and the NAMHC Workgroup report on Transformative Neurodevelopmental Research (NAMHC, 2008). This study will use an innovative, lab-based methodological paradigm to examine cognitive (i.e., attributions, social problem solving) and biological (i.e., neuroendocrine, cardiovascular) responses to an in vivo social stressor. Participants will include 250 female adolescents from both outpatient and inpatient clinically-referred samples. Data will be collected from multiple informants (adolescents, parents) and multiple sources (observational methods, structured interviews, questionnaires, biological assays). It is expected that observed stress responses in the lab will interact with the experience of actual social stress measured during follow-up to predict self-injury trajectories over an 18 month interval. In other words, this study will address long-standing, but under-explored questions regarding why and how psychological symptoms, and/or the experience of stress, are associated with self-injurious behaviors.

Public Health Relevance

Although much research has indicated that adolescents with a history of psychopathology are at increased risk for self-injury (e.g., self-mutilation;suicide attempts), little is known about why or how psychological symptoms lead to self-injury. Thus, there are few directions for evidence-based prevention/intervention. This research will examine specific psychological and biological responses to social stress that may increase the risk for girls'self- injury, and help to elucidate the development of self-injurious behaviors by exploring the course of these behaviors across a sensitive and critical developmental period.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01MH085505-02
Application #
7992405
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-RPHB-B (02))
Program Officer
Garriock, Holly A
Project Start
2009-12-01
Project End
2014-11-30
Budget Start
2010-12-01
Budget End
2011-11-30
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2011
Total Cost
$658,753
Indirect Cost
Name
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
608195277
City
Chapel Hill
State
NC
Country
United States
Zip Code
27599
Nesi, Jacqueline; Prinstein, Mitchell J (2018) In Search of Likes: Longitudinal Associations Between Adolescents' Digital Status Seeking and Health-Risk Behaviors. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol :1-9
Nesi, Jacqueline; Choukas-Bradley, Sophia; Prinstein, Mitchell J (2018) Transformation of Adolescent Peer Relations in the Social Media Context: Part 2-Application to Peer Group Processes and Future Directions for Research. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 21:295-319
Giletta, Matteo; Slavich, George M; Rudolph, Karen D et al. (2018) Peer victimization predicts heightened inflammatory reactivity to social stress in cognitively vulnerable adolescents. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 59:129-139
Eisenlohr-Moul, Tory A; Miller, Adam B; Giletta, Matteo et al. (2018) HPA axis response and psychosocial stress as interactive predictors of suicidal ideation and behavior in adolescent females: a multilevel diathesis-stress framework. Neuropsychopharmacology 43:2564-2571
Nesi, Jacqueline; Choukas-Bradley, Sophia; Prinstein, Mitchell J (2018) Transformation of Adolescent Peer Relations in the Social Media Context: Part 1-A Theoretical Framework and Application to Dyadic Peer Relationships. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 21:267-294
Giletta, Matteo; Hastings, Paul D; Rudolph, Karen D et al. (2017) Suicide ideation among high-risk adolescent females: Examining the interplay between parasympathetic regulation and friendship support. Dev Psychopathol 29:1161-1175
Nesi, Jacqueline; Widman, Laura; Choukas-Bradley, Sophia et al. (2017) Technology-Based Communication and the Development of Interpersonal Competencies Within Adolescent Romantic Relationships: A Preliminary Investigation. J Res Adolesc 27:471-477
Nesi, Jacqueline; Miller, Adam B; Prinstein, Mitchell J (2017) Adolescents' Depressive Symptoms and Subsequent Technology-Based Interpersonal Behaviors: A Multi-Wave Study. J Appl Dev Psychol 51:12-19
Glenn, Catherine R; Kleiman, Evan M; Cha, Christine B et al. (2016) Implicit cognition about self-injury predicts actual self-injurious behavior: results from a longitudinal study of adolescents. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 57:805-13
Choukas-Bradley, Sophia; Giletta, Matteo; Neblett, Enrique W et al. (2015) Ethnic differences in associations among popularity, likability, and trajectories of adolescents' alcohol use and frequency. Child Dev 86:519-35

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