title: Preoccupied but not dismissing attachment states of mind are associated with nonsuicidal self-injury.
abstract: In this investigation the factor structure of the Adult Attachment Interview was studied in a partially at-risk sample of 120 young adults. More specifically, 60 participants had engaged in nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI; 53 females, M age = 20.38 years), and 60 were non-self-injuring controls matched by age and sex. Theoretically anticipated differential associations between preoccupied (but not dismissing) states of mind and NSSI were then examined. Exploratory factor analyses identified evidence for two weakly correlated state of mind dimensions (i.e., dismissing and preoccupied) consistently identified in factor analyses of normative-risk samples. As hypothesized, results further showed that preoccupied (but not dismissing) states of mind were associated with NSSI behavior. Findings support existing arguments suggesting that the regulatory strategy adults adopt when discussing attachment-related experiences with primary caregivers, particularly passive, angry, or unresolved discourse patterns, is uniquely correlated with NSSI.
authors.affiliation: York University.
authors.forename: Jodi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.affiliation: University of Ottawa.
authors.forename: Jean-François
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Bureau
authors.affiliation: University of Ottawa.
authors.forename: Marie-France
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Lafontaine
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario.
authors.forename: Paula
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cloutier
authors.affiliation: University of the Witwatersrand.
authors.forename: Celia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hsiao
authors.affiliation: Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine.
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pallanca
authors.affiliation: Western University.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Meinz
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D009769:Object Attachment; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019962:Reactive Attachment Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012307:Risk Factors; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D055815:Young Adult