Can a Variant of the Implicit Association Test Detect Nonsuicidal Self-Injury in a Clinical Population? A Registered Report

Background: Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a severe and prevalent mental health problem. Measures to detect which individuals are at risk for NSSI would be valuable for clinical practice. However, we still lack strong predictors of future NSSI behaviour, with the most notable exception being prior NSSI behaviour. Yet, the measurement of prior NSSI behaviour with self-report measures can be difficult because individuals may be motivated to conceal this harmful behaviour. To overcome this problem, an implicit measure has been developed that assesses automatic responding to statements about prior NSSI behaviour (i.e., the past nonsuicidal self-injury Implicit Association Test: P-NSSI-IAT). Previous studies tested the predictive utility of this measure in online studies with samples of at risk participants and produced promising results. Aims: The main aim of this study is to validate the P-NSSI-IAT by assessing its ability to detect prior NSSI behaviour in a sample of clinical patients. Method: We will target patients who receive outpatient treatment for various conditions. Participants will first complete the P-NSSI-IAT. Next, they will be asked how many times they have intentionally cut or carved their skin without intending to kill themselves in the past 12 months and the past 30 days and how likely they would be to intentionally cut or carve their skin without intending to kill themselves in the future. Discussion: The registered study is the first to examine the clinical utility of a new implicit measure for prior NSSI behaviour (the P-NSSI-IAT). It will provide an answer to the question whether the P-NSSI-IAT allows detection of self-rated prior NSSI and future likelihood of NSSI in a sample of clinical patients.

This is a Registered Report Stage 1 Manuscript submitted to Clinical Psychology in Europe (CPE). Date of in-principal acceptance: 2022-10-25.