Latent typology of nonsuicidal self-injury and differences in mental health outcomes

Abstract

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), defined as deliberate acts of self-harm without suicidal intent, significantly impacts adults. NSSI involves various behaviors, varying in frequency and severity as well as intersecting with one another. To uncover unobserved subtypes of NSSI, this study utilized latent class analysis (LCA) to precisely identify a latent typology of NSSI among adults using a large national sample (N = 18,798; M_age = 21.73; SD = 4.93). Additionally, differences in mental health outcomes, including depression and anxiety, across the identified latent subtypes of NSSI were examined in the LCA model. The findings revealed eight distinct latent subtypes, demonstrating statistically significant differences in depression and anxiety, including multimethod—severe, multimethod—moderate, multimethod—mild, cutting—dominant multimethod, unimethod—pulling hair, unimethod—interfering with wound healing, unimethod—punching/banging, and unimethod—punching/banging an object. These findings underscore the distinct characteristics and mental health needs of each latent subgroup and suggest more tailored and targeted approaches for counseling practice.