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Behavioral measures of impulsivity and compulsivity in adolescents with nonsuicidal self-injury

Behavioral measures of impulsivity and compulsivity in adolescents with nonsuicidal self-injury
Behavioral measures of impulsivity and compulsivity in adolescents with nonsuicidal self-injury

Background: nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is prevalent among adolescents and research is needed to clarify the mechanisms which contribute to the behavior. Here, the authors relate behavioral neurocognitive measures of impulsivity and compulsivity to repetitive and sporadic NSSI in a community sample of adolescents. 

Methods: computerized laboratory tasks (Affective Go/No-Go, Cambridge Gambling Task, and Probabilistic Reversal Task) were used to evaluate cognitive performance. Participants were adolescents aged 15 to 17 with (n = 50) and without (n = 190) NSSI history, sampled from the ROOTS project which recruited adolescents from secondary schools in Cambridgeshire, UK. NSSI was categorized as sporadic (1-3 instances per year) or repetitive (4 or more instances per year). Analyses were carried out in a series of linear and negative binomial regressions, controlling for age, gender, intelligence, and recent depressive symptoms. 

Results: adolescents with lifetime NSSI, and repetitive NSSI specifically, made significantly more perseverative errors on the Probabilistic Reversal Task and exhibited significantly lower quality of decision making on the Cambridge Gambling Task compared to no-NSSI controls. Those with sporadic NSSI did not significantly differ from no-NSSI controls on task performance. NSSI was not associated with behavioral measures of impulsivity. 

Conclusions: repetitive NSSI is associated with increased behavioral compulsivity and disadvantageous decision making, but not with behavioral impulsivity. Future research should continue to investigate how neurocognitive phenotypes contribute to the onset and maintenance of NSSI, and determine whether compulsivity and addictive features of NSSI are potential targets for treatment.

adolescent, cognitive, Compulsivity, decision making, impulsivity, NSSI, self-harm, self-injury
1092-8529
604-612
Lutz, Nina M.
9fbcb9d4-266a-4da1-a38b-02361584a264
Chamberlain, Samuel R.
8a0e09e6-f51f-4039-9287-88debe8d8b6f
Goodyer, Ian M.
b61b8ae9-a305-462b-9fe5-66f8d3fb6312
Bhardwaj, Anupam
e2d653fb-b05c-44b4-9fc6-99aac22e5ad4
Sahakian, Barbara J.
e689cd5c-b84f-4503-86ca-7526cf340121
Jones, Peter B.
f8afa603-f19e-4afa-b997-27f6b842bffd
Wilkinson, Paul O.
d2bab456-64b4-4d70-a774-bee0dc5a6d8a
Lutz, Nina M.
9fbcb9d4-266a-4da1-a38b-02361584a264
Chamberlain, Samuel R.
8a0e09e6-f51f-4039-9287-88debe8d8b6f
Goodyer, Ian M.
b61b8ae9-a305-462b-9fe5-66f8d3fb6312
Bhardwaj, Anupam
e2d653fb-b05c-44b4-9fc6-99aac22e5ad4
Sahakian, Barbara J.
e689cd5c-b84f-4503-86ca-7526cf340121
Jones, Peter B.
f8afa603-f19e-4afa-b997-27f6b842bffd
Wilkinson, Paul O.
d2bab456-64b4-4d70-a774-bee0dc5a6d8a

Lutz, Nina M., Chamberlain, Samuel R., Goodyer, Ian M., Bhardwaj, Anupam, Sahakian, Barbara J., Jones, Peter B. and Wilkinson, Paul O. (2021) Behavioral measures of impulsivity and compulsivity in adolescents with nonsuicidal self-injury. CNS Spectrums, 27 (5), 604-612. (doi:10.1017/S1092852921000274).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Background: nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is prevalent among adolescents and research is needed to clarify the mechanisms which contribute to the behavior. Here, the authors relate behavioral neurocognitive measures of impulsivity and compulsivity to repetitive and sporadic NSSI in a community sample of adolescents. 

Methods: computerized laboratory tasks (Affective Go/No-Go, Cambridge Gambling Task, and Probabilistic Reversal Task) were used to evaluate cognitive performance. Participants were adolescents aged 15 to 17 with (n = 50) and without (n = 190) NSSI history, sampled from the ROOTS project which recruited adolescents from secondary schools in Cambridgeshire, UK. NSSI was categorized as sporadic (1-3 instances per year) or repetitive (4 or more instances per year). Analyses were carried out in a series of linear and negative binomial regressions, controlling for age, gender, intelligence, and recent depressive symptoms. 

Results: adolescents with lifetime NSSI, and repetitive NSSI specifically, made significantly more perseverative errors on the Probabilistic Reversal Task and exhibited significantly lower quality of decision making on the Cambridge Gambling Task compared to no-NSSI controls. Those with sporadic NSSI did not significantly differ from no-NSSI controls on task performance. NSSI was not associated with behavioral measures of impulsivity. 

Conclusions: repetitive NSSI is associated with increased behavioral compulsivity and disadvantageous decision making, but not with behavioral impulsivity. Future research should continue to investigate how neurocognitive phenotypes contribute to the onset and maintenance of NSSI, and determine whether compulsivity and addictive features of NSSI are potential targets for treatment.

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Accepted/In Press date: 3 January 2021
Published date: 23 April 2021
Additional Information: Publisher Copyright: ©
Keywords: adolescent, cognitive, Compulsivity, decision making, impulsivity, NSSI, self-harm, self-injury

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 492512
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/492512
ISSN: 1092-8529
PURE UUID: 0f455fb0-1741-4a36-a1df-09f74cfa4556
ORCID for Samuel R. Chamberlain: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-7014-8121

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Date deposited: 30 Jul 2024 16:36
Last modified: 03 Aug 2024 02:01

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Contributors

Author: Nina M. Lutz
Author: Samuel R. Chamberlain ORCID iD
Author: Ian M. Goodyer
Author: Anupam Bhardwaj
Author: Barbara J. Sahakian
Author: Peter B. Jones
Author: Paul O. Wilkinson

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