Nonsuicidal Self-injury in the Perspective of HiTOP Spectra

Introduction: Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) represents a relevant public health concern, with lifetime prevalence being high in community samples. The present study aimed to examine the latent associations between the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) superspectra and NSSI frequency and motivation. Methods: A sample of 547 community-dwelling adult participants was administered measures of NSSI, NSSI functions, and psychopathology. Results: The multiple indicators multiple causes model evidenced a significant and nontrivial contribution of the Functional Assessment of Self-Mutilation automatic function latent dimension in predicting the frequency of NSSI. Structural equation modeling analyses showed that the overall frequency of NSSI episodes was uniquely, significantly and positively predicted by the HiTOP Externalizing latent dimension scores. Notably, all FASM motivation factors yielded significant and nontrivial relationships with HiTOP Externalizing, Psychosis, and Emotion Dysfunction latent variables in SEM analyses. Conclusions: These findings may prove useful in extending our knowledge of transdiagnostic psychopathology dimensions and their implications for NSSI.