Category: Suicide and Self-Injury
Roberto Lopez, Jr., M.A.
Doctoral Student
George Mason University
Fairfax, Virginia
Christianne Esposito-Smythers, Ph.D.
Professor
George Mason University
Fairfax, Virginia
Matthew Nock, Ph.D.
Professor
Harvard University
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Katherine Maultsby, M.A.
Clinical Psychology Graduate Student
George Mason University
Arlington, Virginia
Jennifer Poon, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Providence, Rhode Island
Alyssa Izquierdo, M.A.
George Mason University
Fairfax, Virginia
Ana Rabasco, M.A.
Student
Fordham University
New York, New York
Sarah Victor, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, Texas
Rates of self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITB), such as non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), suicidal ideation (SI), and suicide attempts (SAs) among youth and young adults have been increasing in the United States. Furthermore, research suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated disparities in rates of SITBs, particularly among groups who were already at increased risk prior to the pandemic, such as adolescents and people of color (POC). To provide evidence-based, culturally sensitive, and developmentally appropriate suicide prevention efforts to those at greatest risk, research with these populations is urgently needed. Several gaps in existing research have been identified by our team. First, adolescents discharged from psychiatric hospitalization are at increased risk for suicide. Though family processes are associated with suicide risk broadly, specific family processes that prospectively impact suicide during this time of heighted risk are understudied. Relatedly, the pandemic has increased youth’s risk of exposure to emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, which are associated with increased SITB risk. However, the mechanisms underlying the relation between abuse and SITB risk has been understudied, particularly in psychiatrically hospitalized youth. Second, individuals with disordered eating symptoms, a group with increased risk for SITBs, have also been disproportionately affected by the pandemic for a multitude of reasons (e.g., proliferation of online messages of avoiding quarantine weight gain). However, most studies on the relation between NSSI and disordered eating are cross-sectional in nature, limiting our understanding of the temporal relations among these behaviors. Finally, transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals are at increased SITB risk because of minority stress. Nevertheless, predictors and/or mechanisms underlying suicide risk among TGD people have been understudied.
The aim of this symposium is to address gaps in our understanding of SITB risk in vulnerable populations by presenting novel findings among a diverse set of groups across adolescence and adulthood. Presenter 1 will describe findings on the moderating role of family problem-solving abilities as rated by youth, their primary caregiver, and an observer, on the longitudinal relation between depressive symptoms and SI severity in a sample of youth following hospitalization. Presenter 2 will report on the temporal relation between abuse, emotion regulation difficulties, and various SITBs in a second clinical, adolescent sample. Presenter 3 will describe real-time data on the temporal relations between disordered eating behaviors and NSSI in a non-clinical sample of young adults collected using an intensive longitudinal design. Presenter 4 will present results on the real-time relations between minority stress and SITB risk among TGD adults. Presenter 5 will describe a conditional process model of suicide risk among adults who identify as TGD POC. Finally, our Discussant, an expert in the study of SITB, will synthesize the talks and discuss their implications for our understanding of SITB risk among at-risk populations across the lifespan.
Presenter: Katherine Maultsby, M.A. – George Mason University
Co-author: Roberto Lopez Jr., M.A. – George Mason University
Co-author: Lauren Seibel, PhD – George Mason University
Co-author: Jennifer Wolff, Ph.D. – Warren Alpert School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Brown University
Co-author: Anthony Spirito, PhD – Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Co-author: Christianne Esposito-Smythers, Ph.D. – George Mason University
Presenter: Jennifer A. Poon, Ph.D. – Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Co-author: Roberto Lopez Jr., M.A. – George Mason University
Co-author: Lynne Marie-Shea, M.A. – Suffolk University
Co-author: Richard Liu, Ph.D. – Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School
Presenter: Alyssa Izquierdo, M.A. – George Mason University
Co-author: Sarah Fischer, Ph.D. – George Mason University
Presenter: Ana Rabasco, M.A. – Fordham University
Co-author: Ana Rabasco, M.A. – Fordham University
Co-author: Margaret Andover, Ph.D. – Fordham University
Presenter: Sarah E. Victor, Ph.D. – Texas Tech University