THE RELATIONSHIP OF PERSONALITY AND NON-SUICIDAL SELF INJURY TO AGGRESSION AND ALCOHOL USE
Date
2021
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Abstract
The following dissertation utilizes secondary data analysis of a cross-sectional dataset collected from 876 undergraduate students. The purpose of the parent study was to examine the relationship of personality traits and motives to a wide variety of mood symptoms and impulsive behaviors. The current dissertation has two studies. The goal of Study 1 is to explore the relationship of Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) traits, Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) traits, and distress tolerance to aggressive behavior, non-suicidal self injury (NSSI), and binge drinking among male and female undergraduates. The goals of Study 2 are twofold: Part 1 attempts to replicate the class distinctions found in previous LCA and LPA analyses of college students who self-injure, then Part 2 compares these classes on validators related to alcohol use and aggression. For Study 1, structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine how individual differences in distress tolerance predict drinking, NSSI, and aggression, distinct from ASPD and BPD. For Study 2, Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) is used for Part 1 to examine how people who have ever engaged in NSSI cluster together based on frequency, type, and motives for NSSI. In Part 2, independent sample t-tests are used to compare mean differences on aggression, binge drinking, DT, and impulsivity (validators) among the classes from Part 1. Results partially supported hypotheses for both Study 1 and Study 2. Clinical implications and future research directions are explored.