(PS13-6) Longitudinal Relations Between Perceived Stress, Emotion Reactivity, and Adolescent Self-injurious Thoughts and Behaviors

Not all youth who experience stress contemplate, or engage in, self-injurious behavior. Therefore, the current study sought to examine the potential moderating effects of emotion reactivity on the relation between baseline perceived stress and prospective self-injurious thoughts and behaviors in a high-risk, adolescent sample. Participants consisted of 102 youth (M_age = 16.66; SD =1.89; 93.1% female; 74.5% White; 22.5% Latino/a/x) with histories of recurring self-harm (i.e., suicide attempts and/or non-suicidal self-injury). At baseline, perceived stress was assessed using self-report and emotion reactivity with a distressing lab task. Self-injurious thoughts and behaviors were assessed via self-report and clinical interview at baseline and 6-months. Path models were used to estimate temporal relations among variables of interest. Baseline perceived stress predicted 6-month suicidal ideation severity among youth reporting greater (versus less) increases in negative affect following the lab task. Greater decrements in positive affect following the same task did not moderate the relation between perceived stress and suicidal ideation, though predicted greater 6-month suicidal ideation. Emotion reactivity did not moderate the relation between stress and self-harm. Exploratory analyses suggested that perceived stress predicted 6-month suicide attempts, but not non-suicidal self-injury, among youth reporting greater decrements in positive affect. Emotion reactivity may be an important treatment target. Further research is needed to clarify whether changes in affect following a distressing task, or their specific valence, are differentially related to types of self-harm.