An experimental investigation of the effects of self-criticism and self-compassion on implicit associations with non-suicidal self-injury.
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Abstract |
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Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is the intentional destruction of bodily tissue in the absence of suicidal motives. Individuals who self-injure often report doing so in order to punish the self or express self-hatred. Self-criticism, or thoughts marked by shame, self-consciousness, and inferiority, is associated with higher rates of NSSI while self-compassion, or the tendency to be sympathetic and caring with oneself, is negatively associated with NSSI. The aim of the present study was to determine whether experimentally-induced self-criticism would increase and self-compassion would decrease implicit identification with NSSI. Participants were randomly assigned to either a self-criticism induction, a self-compassion induction, or a neutral, control condition and completed a measure of strength of the automatic associations that a person holds between themselves and self-harming behaviors before and after the experimental induction. Study hypotheses were partially supported. Results showed that participants in the self-criticism induction experienced an increase in their implicit associations with NSSI while implicit associations in the self-compassion condition did not significantly change. These results highlight the importance of self-criticism in NSSI. Future research should examine increases in self-criticism as a potential precursor of NSSI in longitudinal samples. |
Year of Publication |
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2021
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Journal |
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Behaviour research and therapy
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Volume |
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139
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Number of Pages |
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103819
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Date Published |
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2021
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ISSN Number |
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0005-7967
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URL |
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https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0005-7967(21)00018-8
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DOI |
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10.1016/j.brat.2021.103819
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Short Title |
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Behav Res Ther
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