Depression, Self-Criticism, and Nonsuicidal Self-Injury: A Prospective Investigation in Young Adults

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is associated with significant distress, impairment, and suicide risk among young adults. Negative affectivity and self-critical cognitions are linked to NSSI but have rarely been considered jointly alongside indicators of NSSI severity. To address this gap, we examined depressive symptoms and self-criticism as concurrent and prospective predictors of NSSI urges among depressed young adults over six weeks. Baseline NSSI severity was positively related to baseline depressive symptoms, which predicted follow-up NSSI urges; however, baseline depressive symptoms did not predict later NSSI urges when controlling for baseline NSSI severity. In contrast, self-criticism was not associated with baseline NSSI severity but predicted follow-up NSSI urges, even when controlling for prior NSSI severity. Using within-person longitudinal path models, depressive symptoms were positively associated with NSSI urges at the same assessment but did not prospectively predict later NSSI urges; however, self-criticism did predict later NSSI urges but not concurrent NSSI urges. Thus, depressive symptoms may indicate overall NSSI risk but may be less informative than self-criticism in predicting within-person changes in NSSI urges over time. These findings inform NSSI theories and highlight potential NSSI prevention and intervention targets.