Negative mood and interference control in nonsuicidal self-injury

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is frequently associated with high impulsivity.
• However, behavioral studies show mixed results, with NSSI groups often performing similarly to controls.
• Emerging research indicates potential deficits in response inhibition to negative emotional stimuli in individuals with NSSI.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether induced negative mood impairs interference control in individuals with a history of NSSI.
• To extend previous findings on emotional stimuli and response inhibition to the context of mood induction.

Main Methods:

• Participants included 33 individuals with a history of NSSI and 31 healthy controls.
• The multi-source interference task was administered before and after a negative mood induction.
• The mood induction aimed to evoke feelings of worthlessness, guilt, and shame.

Main Results:

• Following the negative mood induction, the NSSI group reported increased negative mood.
• Despite increased negative mood, the NSSI group did not exhibit impaired interference control.
• Both NSSI and healthy control groups demonstrated comparable performance on the interference task.

Conclusions:

• This study suggests that NSSI is not characterized by general behavioral impulsivity, even under conditions of negative mood.
• Findings support previous research indicating equivalent cognitive control between NSSI and control groups.
• Negative mood induction did not reveal a specific deficit in interference control related to NSSI.