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. 2023 Nov:329:115558.
doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115558. Epub 2023 Oct 22.

Nonsuicidal self-injury methods among U.S. Veterans: Latent class analysis and associations with psychosocial outcomes

Rachel L Zelkowitz  1 , Tate F Halverson  2 , Tapan A Patel  3 , Jean C Beckham  4 , Patrick S Calhoun  5 , Mary Jo Pugh  6 , Nathan A Kimbrel  5
Affiliations

Nonsuicidal self-injury methods among U.S. Veterans: Latent class analysis and associations with psychosocial outcomes

Rachel L Zelkowitz et al. Psychiatry Res. 2023 Nov.

Abstract

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a debilitating concern among U.S. veterans, with wall/object-punching commonly endorsed as an NSSI method. We examined how this behavior relates to other NSSI methods and psychosocial outcomes. We conducted a latent class analysis (LCA) of NSSI methods among 1,138 Gulf War Era veterans, (77.9% male), 21.7% of whom endorsed lifetime NSSI. We categorized classes based on their associations with age, sex, combat and military sexual assault exposure, then examined the association of class membership with psychosocial indicators. LCA results supported four classes: 1) High punching/banging NSSI (2.5%); 2) Multimethod NSSI methods (6.3%); 3) High-risk, multimethod NSSI (3.1%); and 4) Low-risk NSSI (88.1%). Psychosocial indicators (suicide attempt, ideation, possible depressive or posttraumatic stress disorders, poor psychosocial functioning) were worse for members of the NSSI classes versus those in the low-risk group. A subset of U.S. veterans may engage in NSSI primarily via punching/banging methods. All patterns of NSSI engagement were associated with negative psychosocial outcomes relative to those in the low-risk class of the behavior.

Keywords: Depression; Functioning; PTSD; Suicide.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interest The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

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