(PS2-C56) The Role of Disgust in Self-injurious Thoughts and Behaviors

Self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITBs) include suicidal and non-suicidal thoughts and behaviors. A number of emotions have been associated with SITBs, including sadness, anger/frustration, anxiety, shame, and guilt (Klonsky, 2009). Research suggests that disgust may be an important emotion associated with suicide (Chu et al., 2013), and self-disgust has been identified as an indirect link between severity of PTSD symptoms and suicide risk among trauma-exposed individuals (Brake et al., 2017). The current study explores how disgust and self-disgust manifest in and differ among individuals with versus without a history of SITBs. 

Participants will include 100 college students (18 years and up) recruited campus-wide (current n = 32).  Participants will complete a one-hour lab assessment that includes: various self-report measures to assess related constructs of interest (e.g., the Distress Tolerance Scale; Simons, 2005), a self-report version of the Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors Interview (SITBI; Nock et al., 2007), the Self-Injury Implicit Association Test (SI-IAT; Nock & Banaji, 2007), the Disgust Propensity and Sensitivity Scale–Revised (DPSS-R; Fergus & Valentiner, 2009), the Disgust with Self and World Scale (DSWS; Ribeiro et al., 2012), and randomization to mood induction task involving solicitation of either: a) disgust (e.g., “write about a time in your life when you felt disgusted by others, by something that occurred in the world, or something that you learned about”), or b) self-disgust (e.g., “write about a time in your life when you felt disgusted with yourself: by something you did, said, experienced directly, or thought”). Participants will complete the DPSS-R, DSWS, and the Brief Mood Introspection Scale (Mayer & Gaschke, 1988) before and after the mood induction.

We hypothesize that self-disgust, while present in both groups, will be strongest among individuals with a history of SITBs. Secondly, individuals with a history of SITBs will endorse more emotional avoidance and lower distress tolerance in response to feeling disgusted than individuals without a history. Finally, we hypothesize that SI-IAT scores (i.e., strong implicit identification with NSSI and/or strong, positive attitudes towards NSSI) will predict higher self-disgust scores, more emotional avoidance, and less distress tolerance.

Data collection is underway and will be completed in May 2022. Planned analyses include between-group comparisons of SI-IAT scores, self-reported disgust, emotional avoidance, and distress tolerance between participants with and without a history of SITBs. Additionally, regression analyses will be used to examine whether self-reported disgust, emotional avoidance, or distress tolerance predict SI-IAT scores. 

In sum, the limited literature suggests that disgust may be an important factor in SITBs; furthering understanding of the role of disgust in SITBs, and psychological disorders more generally, has the potential to inform existing interventions (e.g., inclusion of disgust as an important emotion when teaching patients strategies for emotion regulation), and down the line, may have implications for understanding the development and progression of SITBs.