Testing the emotion regulation hypothesis among self-injuring females: evidence for differences across mood states

Self-injurious behavior (SIB) is frequently motivated to regulate aversive affective states. Research has been limited to group level analyses that often did not adequately differentiate distinct emotions. The present study examined the course of 5 emotional states immediately before, after, and 1 day after SIB among 106 female members of a Dutch support organization. Psychological descriptors suggested that most participants exhibited borderline features. At group level, all negative mood states were highest immediately before, dropped markedly after, and increased again 1 day after SIB, whereas the reverse pattern was observed for vigor. However, at the individual level significant differences between mood states were observed. Effects were most pronounced for tension; two thirds of participants reported a reliable reduction in psychological tension that was still present the next day. SIB should be conceptualized as a maladaptive emotion regulation strategy that is effective in reducing negative affect, in particular psychological tension.