An experimental investigation of biased attention in non-suicidal self-injury: The effects of perfectionism and emotional valence on attentional engagement and disengagement

Published prevalence estimates of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) among nonclinical samples are highly heterogeneous, raising concerns about their reliability and hindering attempts to explore the alleged increase in NSSI over time. Accordingly, the objectives of this study were to investigate the influence of methodological factors on heterogeneity in NSSI prevalence estimates, explore changes over time, and estimate overall international NSSI prevalence. Results showed that methodological factors contributed over half (51.6%) of the heterogeneity in prevalence estimates, and, after adjusting for these factors, NSSI prevalence did not increase over time. Overall, pooled NSSI prevalence was 17.2% among adolescents, 13.4% among young adults, and 5.5% among adults. Clearly, development of standardized methodology in NSSI research is crucial if accurate estimates are desired. © 2014 The American Association of Suicidology.

This paper reviews the characteristics of clinical perfectionism and proposes a new definition of the phenomenon. It is suggested that the defining feature of clinically significant perfectionism is the overdependence of self-evaluation on the determined pursuit (and achievement) of self-imposed personally demanding standards of performance in at least one salient domain, despite the occurrence of adverse consequences. It is suggested that such clinical perfectionism is maintained by the biased evaluation of the pursuit and achievement of personally demanding standards. Specifically, it is suggested that people with perfectionism react to failure to meet their standards with self-criticism. If they do meet their standards, the standards are re-evaluated as being insufficiently demanding. Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are considered to have a particular relationship to perfectionism, with both disorders often being direct expressions of perfectionism. Under these circumstances self-evaluation is dependent on the pursuit and attainment of personally demanding standards in the domain of control over eating, shape and weight. The implications of this analysis for research and practice are considered.

A wealth of research demonstrates attentional biases toward threat in the anxiety disorders. Several models have been advanced to explain these biases in anxiety, yet the mechanisms comprising and mediating the biases remain unclear. In the present article, we review evidence regarding the mechanisms of attentional biases through careful examination of the components of attentional bias, the mechanisms underlying these components, and the stage of information processing during which the biases occur. Facilitated attention, difficulty in disengagement, and attentional avoidance comprise the components of attentional bias. A threat detection mechanism likely underlies facilitated attention, a process that may be neurally centered around the amygdala. Attentional control ability likely underlies difficulty in disengagement, emotion regulation goals likely underlie attentional avoidance, and both of these processes may be neurally centered around prefrontal cortex functioning. The threat detection mechanism may be a mostly automatic process, attentional avoidance may be a mostly strategic process, and difficulty in disengagement may be a mixture of automatic and strategic processing. Recommendations for future research are discussed. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.