The role of emotion dynamics and impulsivity’s relation to self-injurious thoughts and behaviors: An ecological momentary assessment study
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: The purpose of the current study is to explore how facets of emotions dynamics predict suicidal and nonsuicidal self-injury at trait and state levels of analysis using three different time scales, as well as explore how self-reported impulsivity moderates those associations. The first aim (A1) will explore how shared and divergent trait associations between a lifetime history of suicide attempts and NSSI relate to current emotion dynamics, calculated over a two-week timeframe, in a sample of 55 sexual and gender minority adults with past-month SITBs. The posited hypotheses are based on results from existing research. It is hypothesized that high negative affect intensity, high negative affect variability, and low positive affect inertia will be positively related to both lifetime suicide and NSSI (H1), suggesting shared risk factors. It is also hypothesized that negative affect inertia will be positively related to suicide only (H2), suggesting divergent risk factors. Analyses will be exploratory for the relation between lifetime SITBs and positive and negative affect differentiation (H3). The second aim (A2) of this study will explore shared and divergent state associations for sexual and gender minority adults with past-month SITBs. It is hypothesized that momentary negative affect variability will be positively related to momentary NSSI urges, but not momentary suicidal ideation (H4), suggesting a divergent risk factor. It is also hypothesized that momentary negative affect intensity will be positively related to both momentary NSSI urges and suicidal ideation (H5), suggesting shared risk factors. Exploratory analyses will assess the relationship between momentary positive affect inertia, negative affect inertia, positive affect differentiation, and negative affect differentiation and momentary NSSI urges and suicidal ideation (H6). Finally, analyses on the differences between daily and weekly time scales will be exploratory (H7). The third aim of this study (A3) will explore how individual differences in impulsivity moderate the above trait associations. All participants completed the UPPS-P self-report measure of impulsivity, and the relation between SITBs and four facets of impulsivity will be explored. As highlighted in the review above, existing literature is mixed and limited on the relation between NSSI and suicide and facets of impulsivity. As such, analyses exploring the impact of facets of impulsivity on the associations between emotion dynamics and SITBs will be exploratory (H8). Significant moderations at the trait level will be followed up with exploration of the moderation at state levels.
Authors: Ahrenholtz, Michaela, Bresin, Konrad
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7138895926