Diagnostic Correlates of Nonsuicidal Self-Injury Disorder among Veterans with Psychiatric Disorders

• Published in: Psychiatry research 2021-02, Vol.296, p.113672-113672, Article 113672
• Main Authors: Patel, Tapan A., Mann, Adam J. D., Blakey, Shannon M., Aunon, Frances M., Calhoun, Patrick S., Beckham, Jean C., Kimbrel, Nathan A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Anxiety Disorders; Borderline personality disorder; Borderline Personality Disorder - diagnosis; Comorbidity; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Obsessive compulsive disorder; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - epidemiology; Self-harm; Self-Injurious Behavior - diagnosis; Suicide; Surveys and Questionnaires; Veterans; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0165-1781; 1872-7123
• DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113672

•Diagnostic predictors of NSSID need to be determined in veterans•BPD and OCD most strongly predicted NSSID•Future research should seek discover why OCD is strongly associated with NSSID•Clinicians and researchers should apply findings in future practice With its recent inclusion in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, nonsuicidal self-injury disorder (NSSID) has received limited research attention, especially in samples of military veterans. The present study sought to identify diagnostic predictors of NSSID within a veteran sample. Study participants included 124 veterans with at least one psychiatric diagnosis. Chi-square tests and t-tests evaluated bivariate associations between NSSID and twenty diagnostic correlates. Logistic regression models identified psychiatric disorders that were unique correlates of NSSID among veterans. Veterans with lifetime NSSID (n = 59) met criteria for a greater number of lifetime disorders than veterans with other psychiatric disorders. Bivariate associations were noted between NSSID and borderline personality disorder, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and cannabis use disorder. In the logistic regression model, only borderline personality disorder (AOR = 7.67) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (AOR = 3.23) continued to be associated with NSSID. The present study represents the first examination of the association between NSSID and psychiatric disorders among veterans. The findings shed light on psychiatric disorders associated with lifetime NSSID in veterans, with special consideration toward obsessive-compulsive disorder as a risk factor for NSSID.