Taylor A Burke1, Sijing Shao2, Ross Jacobucci2, Marin Kautz3, Lauren B Alloy3, Brooke A Ammerman2. 1. Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, USA; Harvard Medical School, Department of Psychiatry, USA. Electronic address: tburke17@mgh.harvard.edu. 2. University of Notre Dame, Department of Psychology, USA. 3. Temple University, Department of Psychology, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The current study aimed to examine the concurrent and prospective relationships between the three hypothesized components of behavioral approach system (BAS) sensitivity: drive, reflecting the motivation to pursue one's desired goals; reward responsiveness, reflecting sensitivity to reward or reinforcement; and fun-seeking, reflecting the motivation for pursuing novel rewards in a spontaneous manner, and NSSI urge severity. METHODS: A sample of 64 undergraduates with a history of repetitive NSSI completed an ecological momentary assessment protocol. During this period of time, participants reported on the BAS-constructs of drive, reward responsiveness, and fun-seeking, as well as NSSI urge severity on a momentary basis at three random intervals each day for a period of ten-days. RESULTS: Drive and reward responsiveness, but not fun-seeking, were concurrently positively associated with NSSI urge severity. However, no associations between BAS facets and prospective NSSI urges were found. LIMITATIONS: This study was limited by its use of single items to assess the BAS-constructs of drive, reward responsiveness, and fun-seeking. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that feeling strongly impacted by rewards and having a strong sense of drive toward goal attainment may represent cognitive risk states that are associated with increased within-person NSSI risk. However, their lack of prospective prediction may suggest that these cognitive states are associated only on a momentary basis with NSSI urges and may not confer risk.
BACKGROUND: The current study aimed to examine the concurrent and prospective relationships between the three hypothesized components of behavioral approach system (BAS) sensitivity: drive, reflecting the motivation to pursue one's desired goals; reward responsiveness, reflecting sensitivity to reward or reinforcement; and fun-seeking, reflecting the motivation for pursuing novel rewards in a spontaneous manner, and NSSI urge severity. METHODS: A sample of 64 undergraduates with a history of repetitive NSSI completed an ecological momentary assessment protocol. During this period of time, participants reported on the BAS-constructs of drive, reward responsiveness, and fun-seeking, as well as NSSI urge severity on a momentary basis at three random intervals each day for a period of ten-days. RESULTS: Drive and reward responsiveness, but not fun-seeking, were concurrently positively associated with NSSI urge severity. However, no associations between BAS facets and prospective NSSI urges were found. LIMITATIONS: This study was limited by its use of single items to assess the BAS-constructs of drive, reward responsiveness, and fun-seeking. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that feeling strongly impacted by rewards and having a strong sense of drive toward goal attainment may represent cognitive risk states that are associated with increased within-person NSSI risk. However, their lack of prospective prediction may suggest that these cognitive states are associated only on a momentary basis with NSSI urges and may not confer risk.
Authors: Andrew D Peckham; Haley Jordan; Alexandra Silverman; Stephanie Jarvi Steele; Thröstur Björgvinsson; Courtney Beard Journal: Arch Suicide Res Date: 2019-07-01