The Interaction of Shame and Urgency in Non-Suicidal Self-Injury and Suicide Attempts

Urgency, the trait-like tendency to respond to heightened emotion states with rash action, has been associated with both non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicide attempts (Lynam et al., 2011). Limited research has sought to identify specific emotions that may trigger NSSI or suicide attempts for those with high urgency. We examined shame as a candidate emotion. We hypothesized that greater shame-proneness, in combination with greater urgency, would explain unique variance in NSSI and suicide attempt history in two community samples (Ns = 192 and 225). Logistic and negative binomial regression analyses examined the effects of shame, urgency, and their interaction on the presence (vs. absence) and frequency of NSSI and suicide attempts. The proposed interaction of shame and urgency was related to greater risk and frequency of NSSI and suicide attempts when examining simple slopes, across the six models tested, particularly when urgency was high. Further research should examine shame as a trigger for self-harm in the context of heightened urgency using time series designs.