TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2015//
TI  - Implicit cognition about self-injury predicts actual self-injurious behavior: results from a longitudinal study of adolescents
JO  - Journal of child psychology and psychiatry
A1  - Glenn, Catherine R.
A1  - Kleiman, Evan M.
A1  - Cha, Christine B.
A1  - Nock, Matthew K.
A1  - Prinstein, Mitchell J.
SP  - 805
EP  - 813
VL  - 57
IS  - 7
N2  - BACKGROUND: The implicit association hypothesis of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) proposes that individuals who engage in self-injury develop, over time, strong associations between themselves and NSSI, and their identification with this behavior guides their future selection of NSSI to cope. Prior research has established a relationship between implicit NSSI associations (using an Implicit Association Test for Self-Injury) and engagement in NSSI. However, previous studies have been small and cross-sectional, and thus underpowered to examine the nature of this association and the extent to which implicit associations predict the persistence of NSSI. <br><br>METHODS: This study builds on previous research in a prospective, longitudinal examination of implicit self-identification with NSSI in a large sample of middle school students. NSSI behavior and implicit NSSI associations were assessed annually in school at three time points. <br><br>RESULTS: Adolescents who engaged in NSSI exhibited stronger implicit self-identification with NSSI than adolescents who did not engage in NSSI. Moreover, implicit NSSI identification was stronger among adolescents who engaged in cutting, frequent NSSI, and recent NSSI. A reciprocal association was observed between NSSI frequency and implicit NSSI identification over 1 year. Notably, implicit NSSI identification uniquely and prospectively predicted engagement in NSSI over the subsequent year. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Implicit self-identification with NSSI may track both trait- and state-related changes in the behavior and, importantly, may help predict continued engagement in NSSI.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0021-9630
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12500
ID  - ref1
ER  -