Child maltreatment and deliberate self-harm: a negative binomial hurdle model for explanatory constructs

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Public Health
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Emerging adults exhibit the highest rates of deliberate self-harm (DSH).
• Child maltreatment (CM) is a known risk factor for DSH, but underlying mechanisms require further elucidation.
• Understanding these pathways is crucial for developing targeted interventions for at-risk populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the mediating roles of negative urgency, distress tolerance, sense of control, and desire for control in the relationship between CM and DSH.
• To examine how CM influences the likelihood and frequency of DSH among college students.
• To clarify the complex interplay between adverse childhood experiences and self-harm behaviors.

Main Methods:

• A sample of college students completed assessments of CM history, negative urgency, distress tolerance, sense of control, desire for control, and DSH.
• Structural equation modeling was employed to test the proposed mediation model.
• Statistical analyses examined direct and indirect associations between variables.

Main Results:

• CM directly and positively predicted both the likelihood and frequency of DSH.
• CM was associated with increased negative urgency and decreased distress tolerance and sense of control.
• Negative urgency positively predicted DSH likelihood and frequency; distress tolerance indirectly influenced DSH via negative urgency.

Conclusions:

• Child maltreatment significantly elevates the risk for deliberate self-harm in emerging adults.
• Negative urgency and distress tolerance are key psychological mechanisms linking CM to DSH.
• Interventions targeting negative urgency may be effective in mitigating DSH risk among individuals with a history of child maltreatment.