Interpersonal Sensitivity and Social Problem-Solving in Adolescents with Suicide Attempts or Non-suicidal Self-Injury

Interpersonal dysfunction robustly predicts suicide attempts (SA) and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in adolescents. We sought to better elucidate how two interpersonal constructions (interpersonal sensitivity and social problem-solving strategies) may lead to NSSI vs. SA in adolescents.

We compared non-overlapping groups of adolescents engaged in either SA (n = 49, M_age = 15.80, SD = 1.23, 63% female) or NSSI (n = 50, M_age = 15.35, SD = 1.34, 82% female), and healthy controls (HC; n = 43, M_age = 15.46, SD = 1.30, 61% female). We hypothesized: (1) greater interpersonal sensitivity and deficits in social problem-solving strategies would differentiate the three groups and indicate higher risk for being in the NSSI and SA groups, relative to the HC groups, and (2) amongst clinical groups, there would be greater deficits in social problem-solving in the SA group, and greater interpersonal sensitivity in the NSSI group.

NSSI and SA groups demonstrated more interpersonal sensitivity and lower (i.e., worse) social problem-solving skills vs. HCs. Participants were more likely to be in both the SA and NSSI groups based on interpersonal sensitivity (OR_SA = 2.61; OR_NSSI = 2.75) and social problem-solving (OR_SA = 19.11; OR_NSSI = 10.89). Significant differences were observed between the NSSI and SA groups on interpersonal sensitivity [t(97) = 4.28, p < .001, d = 0.86; higher levels in the NSSI group], but not on social problem-solving [t(97) = 1.97, p = .052, d = 0.40].

Both greater interpersonal sensitivity and challenges in social problem-solving predict NSSI and suicidal behavior in adolescents, and interpersonal sensitivity may be a particularly salient risk factor for NSSI. Implications for treatment and future research are discussed.