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Several theoretical models for non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) have been proposed. Despite an abundance of theoretical speculation, few empirical studies have examined the impact of intimate relationship functioning on NSSI. The present study examines the influence of romantic attachment and received intimate partner violence (physical, psychological and sexual) on recent reports of NSSI behaviors and thoughts. The sample was composed of 537 (79.9% female) primarily Caucasian university students between the ages of 18 and 25 years and currently involved in a romantic relationship. The results reveal that anxiety over abandonment was a significant predictor of NSSI thoughts and behaviors in women and a significant predictor of NSSI thoughts in men. Moreover, the experience of intimate partner violence emerged as a significant predictor of NSSI behaviors in both men and women. Continued empirical investigations into the influence of intimate relationship functioning on NSSI will facilitate the development of psychological interventions for young adults dealing with self-harm.

Context: Efforts to classify eating-disordered individuals based on concurrent personality traits have consistently converged on a typology encompassing "over-regulated", "dysregulated", and "low psychopathology" subgroups. In various populations, evidence has associated personality variations of an "over-regulated/dysregulated" type with differences on serotonin-system indices, and specifically, with different loadings of serotonin transporter promoter regulatory region polymorphism (5HTTLPR) genotypes and alleles. We explored the extent to which an empirical, trait-defined typology of eating-disordered individuals coincided systematically with variations in 5HTTLPR, assayed using biallelic and triallelic models., Method: We tested 185 women with a DSM-IV eating disorder (108 with Bulimia Nervosa, 17 Anorexia Nervosa, and 60 an Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified) and 93 with no eating disorder on measures reflecting psychopathological traits and 5HTTLPR (biallelic and triallelic) genotypes and alleles., Results: The highest-function, triallelic (L(A)/L(A)) genotype occurred significantly more frequently among eating-disordered individuals than among controls. However, a more fine-grained analysis suggested that this association was attributable to the fact that, among eating-disordered participants, those displaying an "Inhibited/Compulsive" profile (derived using latent class analysis) were more likely than those of a "Dissocial/Impulsive" or a "Low Psychopathology" group to carry the triallelic 5HTTLPR gain-of-function L(A) allele and to be L(A)/L(A) homozygotes., Discussion: This study's empirically derived classes coincide with interpretable differences on genetic indices-associating an "Inhibited/Compulsive" group with 5HTTLPR gain-of-function genotypes (and alleles) that have elsewhere been linked to trait compulsivity. The findings, furthermore, suggest that 5HTTLPR, by influencing personality-trait manifestations may, in turn, influence eating-disorder risk and symptom expression.

Objective: Individuals with bulimia nervosa have been shown to display heterogeneous profiles of comorbid psychiatric disturbance, possibly due to varying degrees of genetic and environmental vulnerability. Using information about comorbid psychiatric disturbances, we developed an empirically based classification of individuals with bulimia-spectrum disorders, and then explored whether or not the resulting phenotypes corresponded to variations in the serotonin transporter promoter polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) and exposure to childhood abuse., Method: Eighty-nine women aged 17 to 49 years with DSM-IV bulimia-spectrum disorders completed questionnaires assessing eating and general psychopathologic symptoms, participated in interviews assessing Axis I disorders and childhood abuse, and provided blood samples for genotyping. Data on lifetime Axis I disorders were analyzed using latent class analysis, and resulting classes were compared on eating and psychopathologic symptoms, 5-HTTLPR genotype, and childhood abuse. The study was conducted from June 2002 to October 2006., Results: The analysis yielded a model with 2 classes: a first class labeled low comorbidity (N = 59, 66%), characterized by a high likelihood of major depressive disorder, and another class labeled high comorbidity (N = 30, 34%), characterized by a high likelihood of major depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, and substance-use disorders. The high-comorbidity class displayed significantly higher dieting preoccupations and conduct problems, and showed a greater likelihood of carrying the 5-HTTLPR S allele and of childhood abuse than did the low-comorbidity class., Conclusions: The present results are consistent with previous findings identifying a subgroup of individuals with bulimia characterized by high psychiatric comorbidity and suggest that the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism and childhood trauma may both be pertinent to explaining the presence of greater psychiatric comorbidity in bulimia-spectrum disorders.

We recently reported that, among bulimic women, previously abused carriers of the 5HTTLPR S allele showed special propensities towards novelty seeking (implying recklessness or impulsivity) and interpersonal insecurity. We subsequently re-analyzed our data, to examine the bearing of the 5HTTLPR polymorphism and prior sexual or physical maltreatment upon validated, higher-order personality-traits. Ninety women with bulimic syndromes were genotyped for 5HTTLPR "short" (S) and "long" (L(G) and L(A)) alleles, and then assessed for eating symptoms, history of sexual or physical abuse, and the higher-order personality traits Emotional Dysregulation, Dissocial Behavior, Inhibition, and Compulsivity. With a classification based on a biallelic model of 5HTTLPR (i.e., presence or absence of at least one S-allele copy), multiple regression indicated a significant proportion of variance in Dissocial Behavior to be explained by an abuse x genotype interaction-greater psychopathology occurring in abused S-allele carriers. A parallel analysis applying a triallelic model of 5HTTLPR (i.e., presence or absence of at least one copy of presumably low-function S or L(G) alleles) produced a similar pattern, but no statistically significant effect. The finding that bulimic 5HTTLPR S-allele carriers who are previously abused display elevations on Dissocial Behavior corroborates previous observations concerning phenomenological correlates of traumatic stress in 5HTTLPR S allele carriers. (c) 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.