Pitman, Alexandra;
Lowther, Millie;
Pike, Alexandra;
Davies, Jessica;
De Cates, Angharad;
Buckman, Joshua EJ;
Robinson, Oliver;
(2023)
The influence of peer non-suicidal self-harm on young adults' urges to self-harm: experimental study.
Acta Neuropsychiatrica
10.1017/neu.2023.51.
(In press).
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Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that exposure to peer self-harm induces adolescents' urges to self-harm, and that this is influenced by individual suggestibility. METHODS: We recruited 97 UK-based adults aged 18-25 years with a recent history of self-harm, measuring baseline suggestibility (Resistance to Peer Influence, RPI) and perceived ability to control urges to self-harm (using an adapted item from the Self-Efficacy to Resist Suicidal Action Scale; SEASA) before and after two self-harm vignettes featuring named peers from the participant's social network (to simulate exposure to peer non-suicidal self-harm) and after a wash-out exposure. We used paired t-tests to compare mean SEASA scores pre- and post-exposure, and linear regression to test for an association between RPI and change in SEASA scores pre- and post-exposure. RESULTS: Perceived ability to control urges to self-harm was significantly reduced following exposure to peer self-harm (t(96)= 4.02, p <0.001, mean difference=0.61; 95% CI=0.31, 0.91), but was not significantly different from baseline after exposure to a wash-out. We found no association between suggestibility and change in urges to self-harm after exposure to peer self-harm. CONCLUSION: Our findings support social influences on self-harm in a sample of young adults, regardless of their individual degree of suggestibility.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | The influence of peer non-suicidal self-harm on young adults' urges to self-harm: experimental study |
| Location: | England |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1017/neu.2023.51 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1017/neu.2023.51 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Scandinavian College of Neuropsychopharmacology. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited. |
| Keywords: | Adolescent, cognition, peer influence, self-harm, self-injurious behavior |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Division of Psychiatry UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Division of Psychiatry > Epidemiology and Applied Clinical Research |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10182472 |
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