title: Examining potential iatrogenic effects of viewing suicide and self-injury stimuli.
abstract: The high-stakes nature of self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITBs) raises ethical questions and concerns. The authors examined the iatrogenic risk of recently developed behavioral measures such as the suicide or self-injury Implicit Association Tests (IATs), which include repeated and rapid presentation of SITB-related images (e.g., of cut skin) and words (e.g., death, suicide). The impact of these IATs was investigated across a series of 3 studies involving: adult web-based respondents (n = 3,304), undergraduate students (n = 100), and adolescent psychiatric inpatients (n = 89). There was minimal change in self-injurious or suicidal urges detected across all IAT studies. A slight mood decline was detected across the 3 samples, but was isolated to female research participants and 1 type of IAT that presented SITB-related images (vs. words only). Given the increasing use of novel SITB-relevant stimuli in behavioral and neurobiological studies, these findings may help researchers balance clinical sensitivity and clinical science. (PsycINFO Database Record
authors.affiliation: Department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology.
authors.forename: Christine B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Cha
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Virginia.
authors.forename: Jeffrey J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Glenn
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Harvard University.
authors.forename: Charlene A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Deming
authors.affiliation: Division of Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, Boston Children's Hospital.
authors.forename: Eugene J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: D'Angelo
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Harvard University.
authors.forename: Jill M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Hooley
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Virginia.
authors.forename: Bethany A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Teachman
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Harvard University.
authors.forename: Matthew K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Nock
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007049:Iatrogenic Disease; D008297:Male; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D057566:Self Report; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology; D014796:Visual Perception; D055815:Young Adult