Emotion Dysregulation in the Structure of Self-Injurious Behavior

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Abstract

We present the results of the research of the link between emotion regulation and self-injurious behavior. The sample consisted of 706 respondents aged 14—35 (467 female). Methods: Emotion Dysregulation Questionnaire (Polskaya, Razvaliaeva, 2017), Reasons for Self-Injury Scale (Polskaya, 2017), Coping Behavior Strategies Questionnaire (Vasserman et al., 2008), Psychological Mindedness Scale (Novikova, Kornilova, 2014), Positive and Negative Affect Scale (Osin, 2012). Results: we found out that self-injury is more frequent in females, self-injury risk is most severe at 14—21 years. Significant relationships were yielded for self-injurious behavior, emotion dysregulation, hindered awareness and access to emotions, and coping strategies — confrontation, avoidance, self-control, and responsibility. Regression analysis showed that avoidance as a strategy of emotion dysregulation mediates the influence of negative affect on self-injurious behavior; another form of emotion dysregulation — rumination — predicts the increase of negative and the decrease of positive affect. Conclusions: emotion dysregulation underlies the cycle of negative affect aggravation that leads to self-injury. Adolescence and youth are the most dangerous ages when self-injury is used for negative affect regulation.

General Information

Keywords: emotion dysregulation, self-injurious behavior, coping, negative and positive affect, psychological mindedness

Journal rubric: Empirical Researches

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/cpp.2018260405

Acknowledgements. This article was prepared with the financial support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR), project № 16-06-01098 “Emotional self-regulation in the structure of self-injurious behavior”.

For citation: Polskaya N.A. Emotion Dysregulation in the Structure of Self-Injurious Behavior. Konsul'tativnaya psikhologiya i psikhoterapiya = Counseling Psychology and Psychotherapy, 2018. Vol. 26, no. 4, pp. 65–82. DOI: 10.17759/cpp.2018260405. (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.)

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Information About the Authors

Natalia A. Polskaya, Doctor of Psychology, Associate Professor, Leading Researcher, Scientific and Practical Center for Mental Health of Children and Adolescents named after G.E. Sukhareva, Leading Researcher, Moscow, Russia, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7305-5577, e-mail: polskayana@yandex.ru

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