title: Functions of non-suicidal self-injury in adolescents and young adults with Borderline Personality Disorder symptoms.
abstract: Rates of deliberate non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) increase during adolescence and young adulthood, particularly in clinical samples, making these important developmental stages for understanding the functions of NSSI. Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) symptoms also begin to emerge in adolescence, though little research has examined relationships between BPD symptoms and the functions of NSSI in youth, the primary goal of the present study. Adolescents and young adults recruited from an outpatient psychotherapy clinic (N=36) endorsed a range of NSSI functions on the Inventory of Statements about Self-Injury (Klonsky and Glenn, 2009). Participants engaged in NSSI to serve intrapersonal functions (e.g., regulate affect, punish oneself) more frequently than interpersonal functions (e.g., bond with peers, establish autonomy). As predicted, linear regression analyses indicated that BPD affective dysregulation symptoms were associated with the intrapersonal but not the interpersonal functions of NSSI. In contrast, BPD interpersonal dysfunction symptoms were differentially associated with the interpersonal rather than intrapersonal functions of NSSI. These preliminary data indicate that clusters of BPD symptoms show unique relationships with functions of NSSI in treatment-seeking adolescents and young adults, relationships that can be used to target specific functions of NSSI in treatment planning.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA. Electronic address: naomisadeh@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Naomi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sadeh
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Esme A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Londahl-Shaller
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Auran
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Piatigorsky
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Samantha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fordwood
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Barbara K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Stuart
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Dale E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: McNiel
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: E David
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Klonsky
authors.affiliation: Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA; Office of Diversity and Outreach, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Ozer
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Alison M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Yaeger
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000339:Affect; D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D010045:Outpatients; D010379:Peer Group; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011613:Psychotherapy; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Affective dysregulation; Interpersonal dysfunction; Inventory of statements about self-injury