The role of parental psychopathology and personality in adolescent non-suicidal self-injury.
Adolescent non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), a significant risk factor for suicidal behavior, is strongly associated with adolescent psychopathology and personality traits, particularly those characterized by poor self-regulation. Some parental psychopathology and personality traits have also been identified as risk factors for adolescent NSSI, but specific parental characteristics and mechanisms involved in this association have not been systematically examined. The current study comprehensively investigated the contribution of parental psychopathology and personality to adolescent NSSI using data from the baseline wave of the Adolescent Development of Emotion and Personality Traits (ADEPT) study of 550 adolescent girls (mean age = 14.39 years, SD = 0.63) and their biological parents. We first investigated whether parental lifetime psychiatric diagnoses, and personality and clinical (rumination, self-criticism, emotional reliance) traits were associated with adolescent NSSI. We also tested whether adolescent history of psychiatric illness, personality, and clinical traits mediated the associations between parental characteristics and adolescent NSSI. Parental substance use disorder, adult-ADHD symptoms, self-criticism, and lower agreeableness and conscientiousness were associated with offspring's NSSI. These associations were mediated through adolescent characteristics. In contrast, parental mood and anxiety disorders and neuroticism were unrelated to adolescent NSSI. The results suggest that parental traits and disorders characterized by self-regulatory difficulties and lack of support constitute risk factors for self-injury in adolescent girls, acting via adolescent traits. This demonstrates that parental influences play a significant role in the etiology of adolescent NSSI.
['Gromatsky|Molly A|MA|', 'Waszczuk|Monika A|MA|', 'Perlman|Greg|G|', 'Salis|Katie Lee|KL|', 'Klein|Daniel N|DN|', 'Kotov|Roman|R|']
D000293:Adolescent D000294:Adolescent Behavior D000328:Adult D005260:Female D006801:Humans D008137:Longitudinal Studies D008297:Male D001523:Mental Disorders D008875:Middle Aged D010287:Parent-Child Relations D010290:Parents D010551:Personality D010556:Personality Tests D011446:Prospective Studies D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales D012307:Risk Factors D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
Personality Adolescence Non-suicidal self-injury Self-criticism ADHD