Nonsuicidal Self-Injury Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, and Lifetime History of Suicide Attempts among Male and Female Veterans with Mental Health Disorders

• Published in: Journal of affective disorders 2021-05, Vol.287, p.276-281
• Main Authors: Cunningham, Katherine C., Aunon, Frances M., Patel, Tapan A., Mann, Adam J., DeBeer, Bryann B., Meyer, Eric C., Morissette, Sandra B., Silvia, Paul J., Gratz, Kim L., Calhoun, Patrick S., Beckham, Jean C., Kimbrel, Nathan A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Borderline personality disorder; Borderline Personality Disorder - epidemiology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Humans; Male; Mental Health; Military veterans; Nonsuicidal self-injury; Self-Injurious Behavior - epidemiology; Suicide; Suicide, Attempted; Veterans
• ISSN: 0165-0327; 1573-2517
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2021.03.033

•BPD and NSSI disorder (NSSID) were each uniquely associated with lifetime suicide attempts.•When examined together, NSSID emerged as the only significant predictor of suicide attempts in the present study, beyond the effects of BPD, PTSD, and depression.•Veterans with NSSID exhibited nearly 5 times the odds of a lifetime suicide attempt compared to those without NSSID.•Future research should continue to expand our understanding of NSSID as a risk factor for suicide.•Assessment for NSSID in clinical settings may greatly increase our ability to identify and intervene to reduce suicide risk among Veterans. Expanding on research that has identified nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) as a strong predictor of suicide risk, the present study examined NSSI disorder (NSSID) and borderline personality disorder (BPD) as unique contributors to lifetime suicide attempts. To our knowledge, the present study represents the first exploration of these associations among veterans. Participants included 124 male (74%) and female (26%) veterans diagnosed with at least one mental health disorder. Posttraumatic stress disorder (93%) and major depression (86%) were the most common mental health diagnoses. Large proportions of the sample met criteria for NSSID (48%) and BPD (40%). Suicide attempts were reported by 28% of the sample. Chi-square tests determined the bivariate associations among NSSID, BPD, history of suicide attempts, and other variables. Significant diagnostic (i.e., MDD, BPD, and NSSID) and demographic (i.e., age) characteristics were included as covariates in a logistic regression model examining the associations of BPD and NSSID with suicide attempts. BPD, Χ2=11.1, p