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Background: Emotional dysregulation may be a risk factor for disordered eating and self‐harm in young people, but few prospective studies have assessed these associations long‐term, or considered potential mediators. We examined prospective relationships between childhood emotional dysregulation and disordered eating and self‐harm in adolescence; and social cognition, emotional recognition, and being bullied as mediators. Methods: We analysed Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children data on 3,453 males and 3,481 females. We examined associations between emotional dysregulation at 7 years and any disordered eating and any self‐harm at 16 years with probit regression models. We also assessed whether social cognition (7 years), emotional recognition (8 years) and bullying victimisation (11 years) mediated these relationships. Results: Emotional dysregulation at age 7 years was associated with disordered eating [fully adjusted probit B (95% CI) = 0.082 (0.029, 0.134)] and self‐harm [fully adjusted probit B (95% CI) = 0.093 (0.036, 0.150)] at age 16 years. There was no evidence of sex interactions or difference in effects between self‐harm and disordered eating. Mediation models found social cognition was a key pathway to disordered eating (females 51.2%; males 27.0% of total effect) and self‐harm (females 15.7%; males 10.8% of total effect). Bullying victimisation was an important pathway to disordered eating (females 17.1%; males 10.0% of total effect), but only to self‐harm in females (15.7% of total effect). Indirect effects were stronger for disordered eating than self‐harm. Conclusions: In males and females, emotional dysregulation in early childhood is associated with disordered eating and self‐harm in adolescence and may be a useful target for prevention and treatment. Mediating pathways appeared to differ by sex and outcome, but social cognition was a key mediating pathway for both disordered eating and self‐harm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) such as physical and emotional abuse are strongly associated with self‐harm, but mechanisms underlying this relationship are unclear. Inflammation has been linked to both the experience of ACEs and self‐harm or suicide in prior research. This is the first study to examine whether inflammatory markers mediate the association between exposure to ACEs and self‐harm. Methods: Participants were 4,308 young people from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), a population‐based birth cohort in the United Kingdom. A structural equation modelling approach was used to fit a mediation model with the number of ACEs experienced between ages 0 and 9 years old (yo), levels of the inflammatory markers interleukin‐6 and C‐reactive protein measured at 9.5 yo, and self‐harm reported at 16 yo. Results: The mean number of ACEs young people experienced was 1.41 (SE 0.03). Higher ACE scores were associated with an increased risk of self‐harm at 16 yo (direct effect relative risk (RR) per additional ACE 1.11, 95% CI 1.05, 1.18, p < 0.001). We did not find evidence of an indirect effect of ACEs on self‐harm via inflammation (RR 1.00, 95% CI 1.00, 1.01, p = 0.38). Conclusions: Young people who have been exposed to ACEs are a group at high risk of self‐harm. The association between ACEs and self‐harm does not appear to be mediated by an inflammatory process in childhood, as indexed by peripheral levels of circulating inflammatory markers measured in childhood. Further research is needed to identify alternative psychological and biological mechanisms underlying this relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Only one‐third of young people who experience suicidal ideation attempt suicide. It is important to identify factors which differentiate those who attempt suicide from those who experience suicidal ideation but do not act on these thoughts. Methods: Participants were 4,772 members of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), a UK population‐based birth cohort. Suicide ideation and attempts were assessed at age 16 years via self‐report questionnaire. Multinomial regression was used to examine associations between factors that differentiated adolescents in three groups: no suicidal ideation or attempts, suicidal ideation only and suicide attempts. Analyses were conducted on an imputed data set based on those with complete outcome data (suicidal thoughts and attempts) at age 16 years (N = 4,772). Results: The lifetime prevalence of suicidal ideation and attempts in the sample was 9.6% and 6.8% respectively. Compared to adolescents who had experienced suicidal ideation, those who attempted suicide were more likely to report exposure to self‐harm in others (adjusted OR for family member self‐harm: 1.95, for friend self‐harm: 2.61 and for both family and friend self‐harm: 5.26). They were also more likely to have a psychiatric disorder (adjusted OR for depression: 3.63; adjusted OR for anxiety disorder: 2.20; adjusted OR for behavioural disorder: 2.90). Other risk factors included female gender, lower IQ, higher impulsivity, higher intensity seeking, lower conscientiousness, a greater number of life events, body dissatisfaction, hopelessness, smoking and illicit drug use (excluding cannabis). Conclusions: The extent of exposure to self‐harm in others and the presence of psychiatric disorder most clearly differentiate adolescents who attempt suicide from those who only experience suicidal ideation. Further longitudinal research is needed to explore whether these risk factors predict progression from suicidal ideation to attempts over time. Read the Commentary on this article at doi: 10.1111/jcpp.12982 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]