Citation

Burke TA, Shao S, Jacobucci R, Kautz M, Alloy LB, Ammerman BA. J. Affect. Disord. 2021; 296: 244-249.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jad.2021.09.029

PMID

34619451

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The current study aimed to examine the concurrent and prospective relationships between the three hypothesized components of behavioral approach system (BAS) sensitivity: drive, reflecting the motivation to pursue one's desired goals; reward responsiveness, reflecting sensitivity to reward or reinforcement; and fun-seeking, reflecting the motivation for pursuing novel rewards in a spontaneous manner, and NSSI urge severity.

METHODS: A sample of 64 undergraduates with a history of repetitive NSSI completed an ecological momentary assessment protocol. During this period of time, participants reported on the BAS-constructs of drive, reward responsiveness, and fun-seeking, as well as NSSI urge severity on a momentary basis at three random intervals each day for a period of ten-days.

RESULTS: Drive and reward responsiveness, but not fun-seeking, were concurrently positively associated with NSSI urge severity. However, no associations between BAS facets and prospective NSSI urges were found. LIMITATIONS: This study was limited by its use of single items to assess the BAS-constructs of drive, reward responsiveness, and fun-seeking.

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that feeling strongly impacted by rewards and having a strong sense of drive toward goal attainment may represent cognitive risk states that are associated with increased within-person NSSI risk. However, their lack of prospective prediction may suggest that these cognitive states are associated only on a momentary basis with NSSI urges and may not confer risk.

Language: en

Keywords

Behavioral approach system; Ecological momentary assessment; Nonsuicidal self-injury; Nonsuicidal self-injury urges; Reward sensitivity