Potential Mood Variation Following a Behavioral Analogue of Self-Injurious Behavior

Abstract

Despite increased use of behavioral analogues to identify casual mechanisms of self-injurious behavior (e.g., suicide attempts; non-suicidal self-injury), little is known about the impact on participants. The current study examined the impact of a specific behavior analogue, Self-Aggressive Paradigm (SAP), on participant affect. Community participants (n = 507) reported several affective ratings before and after completing SAP task procedures. Following the SAP, participants reported reductions in nervousness and fear and increases in calmness and anger (d = .21). Participants with a current anxiety disorder reported greater increases in happiness; those with a suicide attempt history reported greater increases in sadness. Findings demonstrate the SAP has no adverse mood effects, supporting its use in experimental research.

Keywords:

• behavioral analogues
• laboratory tasks
• negative mood
• non-suicidal self-injury
• suicide attempt

Notes

1 Changes in affect from pre- to post-SAP were also examined in consideration of participant’s average shock selection during the SAP; these findings were not significant, F’s = .01–1.14, p’s = .054–.78.