title: Posttraumatic stress symptoms mediate the relation between childhood sexual abuse and nonsuicidal self-injury.
abstract: Prior research consistently has shown a strong relation between childhood abuse and nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), yet it is unclear why this relation exists. The authors examined 2 specific posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom clusters as potential mechanisms through which childhood abuse may be related to NSSI. Participants were 86 adolescents (78% female, 22% male; 73% Caucasian, 27% other races/ethnicities; mean age = 17.03 years, range = 12-19 years) who completed measures of childhood abuse, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.) PTSD symptoms, and NSSI. Analyses revealed a significant relation between childhood sexual abuse in particular and the presence and frequency of NSSI. Moreover, data supported a theoretical model in which PTSD reexperiencing and avoidance/numbing symptoms independently mediate this relation. Future research must test the temporal relation between childhood sexual abuse, PTSD symptoms, and NSSI and identify additional pathways to engagement in NSSI.
authors.affiliation: National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System, MA, USA. weierich@nmr.mgh.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Mariann R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Weierich
authors.forename: Matthew K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Nock
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D004213:Dissociative Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008404:Massachusetts; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*