The Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors Interview (SITBI) is a widely used measure of the presence, frequency, and characteristics of suicide and self-harming thoughts and behaviors. In response to advances in the conceptualization of these outcomes, and the potential for online data collection, we created a revised version of the SITBI (SITBI-R) and tested its psychometric properties via in-person interview and online self-report formats. Across two studies, the SITBI-R demonstrated strong psychometric properties for both assessment formats. In Study 1, outcomes measured via the SITBI-R showed convergent validity with those assessed with the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale, another interview assessing suicidal thoughts and behaviors. The SITBI-R also showed strong alternate-forms reliability across nearly all outcomes assessed via both assessment formats. In Study 2, the SITBI-R showed strong test-retest reliability via the online assessment format. Across both studies, reliability was strongest for more recent outcomes (e.g., past year vs. lifetime) and for more commonly assessed outcomes of suicidal thoughts, plans, and attempts than for other, less commonly assessed behaviors (e.g., suicide gestures, interrupted suicide attempts, and aborted suicide attempts). The results of these two studies suggest that the SITBI-R provides reliable and valid measurement of key self-injurious outcomes both in person and online. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
1 January 2020 in Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment
Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) involves deliberate and intentional injury to body tissue that occurs in the absence of suicidal intent. Typical examples here might include self-cutting, burning, or self-hitting. Behavior of this kind is fundamentally unsettling as well as perplexing. It is also the case that self-harming behavior of any kind runs counter to a fundamental survival instinct. In the past, behaviors such as these were viewed as self-mutilation and considered to be a form of attenuated suicide. Much has changed over time, culminating in the entry of NSSI Disorder into DSM-5 as a condition in need of further study. In this review we describe the evolution of the NSSI construct and consider current issues in its diagnosis and assessment.
Sexual and gender minority (SGM) adolescents report elevated risk for psychopathology. Identifying as a racial/ethnic minority and sexual minority (SM) or gender minority (GM) may lead to greater stress/discrimination and psychopathology. We examined nonsuicidal self-injury, suicide ideation, and suicide attempts (i.e., self-injurious thoughts and behaviors [SITBs]) and depressive symptoms across intersections of sexual orientation, gender, and race/ethnicity. Study participants consisted of a large (n = 2,948; 59% GM) sample of adolescents aged 14-18 who were recruited online to complete a cross-sectional survey. SGM status, race/ethnicity, and their interactions were used to predict depressive symptoms and SITBs. Associations among race/ethnicity and GM-specific psychosocial factors were assessed. SM (B = 3.75) and GM (B = 8.81) participants reported higher depressive symptoms and SITB histories (odds ratios [ORs] from 1.92 to 2.43 and 2.87 to 5.44, respectively). Asian participants were less likely to report nonsuicidal self-injury (OR = 0.45), and Latinx participants were more likely to report suicide attempts (OR = 1.50). Although omnibus tests of interactions were largely insignificant, exploratory analyses revealed fewer depressive symptoms (B = -8.40) and SITBs (ORs from -0.95 to -2.05) among Black SM participants and, at times, Black GM participants. This protective effect may relate to lower self-reported expectations of rejection due to gender. GM participants reported the highest risk for depressive symptoms and SITBs. Contrary to hypotheses, multiple minority identification was not associated with greater psychopathology. Future research, assessing specific sexual and gender identities across diverse samples, is needed to highlight how race affects psychopathology risk across these identities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).