An examination of nonsuicidal self-injury disclosures in a high-risk university sample.

Objective: There is a lack of research examining factors that promote the disclosure of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) among post-secondary students. However, elucidating which factors facilitate disclosures among students - particularly students with high risk NSSI - is important given that disclosure may facilitate access to care. Methods: Participants included 149 post-secondary students with recent NSSI (81% women, Mage = 19.96) who reported on their disclosures, as well as several potential correlates of disclosure. Results: Eighty-seven percent of respondents had disclosed NSSI, often to several informal sources. Students with higher willingness to disclose personally distressing information, perceived levels of social support, stressful experiences, and frequency of NSSI engagement were more likely to disclose NSSI to more types of sources and more unique individuals. Conclusion: Results suggest that disclosure is an ongoing process rather than a single event, and underscore the importance of teaching effective NSSI disclosure responses to campus community members.

A longitudinal examination of predictors of nonsuicidal self-injury disclosures among university students.

OBJECTIVE: There is a paucity of longitudinal research on predictors of disclosures of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) among emerging adults. However, understanding the factors that facilitate disclosure is critical, as disclosure may serve as a first step in accessing care. To address this gap, the present study examined predictors of prospective NSSI disclosures in a postsecondary student sample. METHODS: A total of 475 university students with a history of NSSI (Mage = 17.96; 74.9% women) reported on several potential predictors of NSSI disclosure, and their disclosure history at baseline and 4- and 8-month follow-ups. RESULTS: It was found that 22% of students reported disclosing NSSI during the first year of university; students who had previously disclosed, and who reported greater NSSI severity, were more likely to disclose over time. CONCLUSION: Results of the present study suggest that disclosures often occur in the postsecondary context, and students who disclose NSSI may engage in more severe NSSI behaviours.

Item-specific proportion congruency (ISPC) modulates, but does not generate, the backward crosstalk effect.

When both tasks in a psychological refractory period (PRP) paradigm have compatible manual responses, a compatibility benefit in RT can often be observed on Task1 performance, in apparent violation of a strict traditional response selection bottleneck model. This compatibility-based backward crosstalk effect (BCE) has been generally attributed to automatic activation of Task2 response information, in parallel with attended Task1 performance. This paper tests a potential alternative mechanism of the BCE. Item-specific proportion congruency (ISPC) effects are previously well demonstrated, where learning of associations between stimuli and task conflict (e.g., that particular Stroop items are typically incongruent) allows rapidly and automatically elicited control adjustments in performance. Similar proportion manipulations have recently been shown to modulate the BCE in dual-task performance. If participants could similarly learn associations between particular pairs of stimuli and resulting response conflict in a PRP task, this kind of mechanism could produce relative speeding versus slowing of Task1 RT on response compatible versus incompatible trials. This pattern of data directly describes the BCE, and represents a potential alternative mechanism that does not require any response crosstalk, and would reinforce a stricter view of the response selection bottleneck model, if true. Over two experiments, we demonstrate that while the BCE is sensitive to ISPC-like effects based on Task1 conflict contingencies, the BCE is insensitive to relationships between particular pairs of stimuli and associated conflict. While ISPC effects can modulate the BCE, they do not generate the BCE. These findings reinforce the current Task2 parallel response activation account of the BCE.

Examining the disclosure of nonsuicidal self-injury to informal and formal sources: A review of the literature.

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a widespread mental health concern among adolescents and young adults. Despite the high rates of NSSI, emerging research suggests that many individuals may conceal the behavior from others, given the stigma around the behavior. Understanding the factors that promote or hinder disclosure, as well as the nature of NSSI disclosure experiences, is important, as positive disclosure experiences may foster social connectedness, promote formal help-seeking, and ultimately serve to reduce NSSI engagement. To consolidate the existing literature and inform best practices for responding to NSSI disclosures, an electronic review of the literature on NSSI disclosure was conducted using PsycINFO, PsycArticles, PubMed, and Google Scholar. Forty-one studies that met search inclusion criteria were identified. In the current review, rates of NSSI disclosures across different populations and to different confidantes are summarized, and potential facilitators and barriers for disclosure are considered. In addition, functions, impacts, and outcomes of NSSI disclosures to different confidantes are discussed. Following the review of the literature, limitations of the existing literature and recommendations for future research in the area of NSSI disclosure are presented. We conclude with a brief summary of best practices for responding to NSSI disclosures.