Citation

Dixon-Gordon KL, Gratz KL, McDermott MJ, Tull MT. Psychiatry Res. 2014; 218(1-2): 113-117.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS 39216, USA. Electronic address: mtull@umc.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.psychres.2014.03.035

PMID

24745474

Abstract

Although a wealth of literature has examined the role of emotion-related factors in deliberate self-harm (DSH), less is known about neurocognitive factors and DSH. In particular, despite theoretical literature suggesting that deficits in executive attention may contribute to engagement in DSH, studies have not yet examined the functioning of this attentional network among individuals with DSH. The present study sought to address this gap in the literature by examining the functioning of the alerting, orienting, and executive attentional networks among participants with a recent history of DSH (n=15), a past history of DSH (n=18), and no history of DSH (n=21). Controlling for borderline personality pathology and depression symptoms, participants with a recent history of DSH exhibited deficits in executive attention functioning relative to participants without any history of DSH. No differences were found in terms of performance on the alerting or orienting attentional networks. These results provide preliminary support for the association between executive attention deficits and DSH.

Language: en