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The downside of being openminded: The positive relation between openness to experience and nonsuicidal self-injury
Konrad Bresin1,2, Rowan A Hunt1
1Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
Background:
Sensation seeking and openness are two distinct, but related, individual differences that lead individuals to seek out intense sensations. As a result, these traits may also predispose individuals toward engaging in non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI); however, to date, no models have examined the relation between openness and NSSI after accounting for the influence of sensation.
Method:
The goals of this study were to (1) examine the relation between openness and NSSI while accounting for sensation seeking in a sample of racially diverse undergraduates (N = 340) and (2) conduct a meta-analysis of the existing research on the association between NSSI and openness.
Results:
A negative binomial regression model demonstrated a significant positive association between NSSI and openness when accounting for sensation seeking; however, NSSI was not significantly related to sensation seeking. Moreover, multivariate meta-analysis with robust variance revealed a small, but significant, association between NSSI and openness across 15 studies.
Conclusion:
Together, these results suggest a positive association between openness and NSSI, highlighting an area for future research in what role openness to experience might play in the development of NSSI.
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