Assessment of self-injurious thoughts using a behavioral test.
OBJECTIVE
The assessment of self-injurious thoughts has been limited by a reliance on what individuals are willing or able to report explicitly. The authors examined a new method that measures self-injurious thoughts by using individuals' reaction times to self-injury-related stimuli on a computerized test.


METHODS
Eighty-nine adolescents who were not self-injurious (N=36) or had recently engaged in nonsuicidal self-injury (N=53) completed two versions of the Self-Injury Implicit Association Test, which measure the automatic association of self-injury with oneself and with favorableness.


RESULTS
The tests revealed significant behavioral differences between the self-injurers and noninjurers. Moreover, test scores significantly improved the statistical prediction of nonsuicidal self-injury beyond that achieved with demographic and psychiatric factors.


CONCLUSIONS
These initial results support the validity of the Self-Injury Implicit Association Test as a performance-based measure of self-injurious thoughts. Future research should further examine the usefulness of incorporating implicit measures in risk assessment and decision-making procedures for self-injury and other sensitive clinical behaviors.
Nock
Matthew K
MK
Department of Psychology, Harvard University, 33 Kirkland St., Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. nock@wjh.harvard.edu
Banaji
Mahzarin R
MR
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001244:Association; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011581:Psychological Tests; D011594:Psychometrics; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012650:Self Disclosure; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D012984:Software; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology; D013850:Thinking