Introduction: Repetition of self-harm after
presenting with an index act is common, and places a person at increased risk
of further self-harm and suicide. There is emerging evidence of an association
between prospective repetition of self-harm and trait-like psychological
measures. The current study aimed to examine the stability of
theoretically-derived trait-like psychological measures, and to examine their
association with repetition in the three months following an index self-harm
presentation.
Methods: The
current study involved structured interviews conducted with [n] self-harm
patients shortly after discharge and again at three months’ follow-up. Patients were recruited through liaison
psychiatry teams. Measures included the modified emotional Stroop test, future
fluency task, and autobiographical memory test. Analyses included ascertaining
the absolute and relative stability of the measures, and conducting a logistic
regression to predict prospective repetition.
Results: The
relative and absolute stability of included measures over three months will be
presented, along with the association between included measures and prospective
repetition of self-harm.
Conclusions: Identification
of risk factors for repetition of self-harm plays a key role in reducing
repetition among self-harm patients, by identifying those at high risk of
repetition and by pointing to potential mechanisms for repetition. This is
study is innovative in its inclusion of the modified emotional Stroop test (as
a measure of sensitivity to defeat) as a potential risk factor for repetition,
and is one of very few studies to examine the stability of trait-like
psychological measure over time in a sample of self-harm patients.