Self-injury Functions, Romantic Relationship Stress, and Suicide Attempts in Adolescents

Suicide and nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) often co-occur and have high prevalence rates in adolescence. Given these worrisome findings, there is still much work that is needed to identify correlates of these self-injurious thoughts and behaviors distinctly. Given that clear self-injurious thoughts and behaviors terms have been limited in suicide research, there is promising research to suggest examining NSSI functions in high-risk youth with self-injurious thoughts and behaviors outcomes. Additionally, it is essential to examine important developmental contributors, such as romantic relationship stress, when assessing NSSI functions and self-injurious thoughts and behaviors outcomes. Thus, the present study examined the relationship between NSSI functions, romantic stress, and suicidal risk among 70 self-injuring adolescents in a clinical sample that were categorized into: NSSI (no suicide attempts, SAs; n = 29) and NSSI + SA (a lifetime history of SAs; n = 41). ANCOVAs revealed that the NSSI + SA endorsed significantly more interpersonal NSSI functions, when controlling for romantic stress. Engaging in NSSI for interpersonal boundaries, in addition to the intrapersonal function of self-punishment, were higher for the NSSI + SA group. Romantic stress was significantly associated with suicide ideation, but not SAs and threats, in the total sample. Descriptive information on the most common romantic stressors endorsed in this self-injuring sample also revealed that break-ups were not in the top three stressors endorsed. This study suggests targeting these distinct interpersonal factors will help to identify high-risk youth who may go on to attempt suicide.