This work may not be copied, distributed, displayed, published, reproduced, transmitted, modified, posted, sold, licensed, or used for commercial purposes. By downloading this file, you are agreeing to the publisher’s Terms & Conditions.

Original Research

Familial and Individual Correlates of Nonsuicidal Self-Injury in the Offspring of Mood-Disordered Parents

Lara J. Cox, MD, MSc; Barbara H. Stanley, PhD; Nadine M. Melhem, PhD; Maria A. Oquendo, MD; Boris Birmaher, MD; Ainsley Burke, PhD; David J. Kolko, PhD; Jamie M. Zelazny, BSN, MPH; J. John Mann, MD; Giovanna Porta, MS; and David A. Brent, MD

Published: June 15, 2012

Article Abstract

Objective: To examine the demographic and clinical correlates of nonsuicidal self-injury.

Method: This is a cross-sectional analysis of a longitudinal cohort study of the familial transmission of suicidal behavior, conducted at referral centers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and New York, New York. Participants included 291 probands with DSM-IV mood disorder, one-half of whom had attempted suicide, and 507 of their offspring. The primary outcome assessed was nonsuicidal self-injury in offspring. Psychosocial correlates of nonsuicidal self-injury were determined by comparing personal, parental, and familial characteristics of offspring with and without nonsuicidal self-injury, assessed using a variety of interview and self-report measures at study entry. Data were collected between August 1998 and August 2007.

Results: Of 507 offspring, 7.7% (n=39) had engaged in nonsuicidal self-injury. The most salient correlates of nonsuicidal self-injury on multivariate logistic regression were diagnosis of depression (OR=3.78, P<.001) and greater aggression (OR=1.07, P=.01), depressive symptoms (OR=1.59, P=.009), and suicidal ideation (OR=1.24, P=.004). Parental history of abuse, as well as family histories of suicide attempt and nonsuicidal self-injury, was noncontributory.

Conclusions: Nonsuicidal self-injury is associated with the presence and severity of depression, suicidal ideation, and behavioral dysregulation. On multivariate analysis, only individual predictors remained significant; this result is distinct from that for correlates of suicide attempt reported in this sample, for which familial variables played a significant role.

J Clin Psychiatry 2012;73(6):813-820

Volume: 73

Quick Links: Depression (MDD) , Suicide

Continue Reading…

Subscribe to read the entire article

$40.00

Buy this Article as a PDF

References