Evidence that implementation intentions reduce self-harm in the community.
Br J Health Psychol
; 28(4): 1241-1260, 2023 11.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37549927
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
Implementation intentions are 'IF-THEN' plans that encourage goal-intended behaviour. This study was designed to test whether an intervention encouraging the formation of implementation intentions can reduce self-harm in the community.DESIGN:
A randomized controlled design was used.METHODS:
At pre-intervention, outcome variables (self-harm in both specified and unspecified critical situations and suicidality) and potential moderators of implementation intentions (goal intention, mental imagery, and exposure to self-harm) were measured using self-report questionnaires. The participants (N = 469, aged 18-66 years, 86.4% female, 6.8% male and 6.7% other) were then randomized to either an experimental (implementation intention) or control task. At three-months post-intervention, self-report questionnaires were used again to measure the outcome variables.RESULTS:
There were no overall differences between the conditions at post-intervention. However, goal intention and mental imagery, but not exposure to self-harm, moderated the effects of condition on self-harm in specified critical situations. At high (mean + 1SD) levels of both goal intention and mental imagery, the experimental condition reported self-harming less frequently in the situations specified in their implementation intentions.CONCLUSIONS:
Implementation intentions therefore represent a useful intervention for reducing self-harm in specified critical situations for people in the community who wish to avoid self-harm and those who frequently experience self-harm and suicide related mental imagery.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Self-Injurious Behavior
/
Intention
Type of study:
Clinical_trials
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Language:
En
Journal:
Br J Health Psychol
Journal subject:
PSICOLOGIA
Year:
2023
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United kingdom