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Browsing by Author "Wallace, Gemma T., author"

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    Examining personality dimensions, emotion dysregulation, and emotion regulation strategies as predictors of engagement in health-risk and self-injurious behaviors
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2019) Wallace, Gemma T., author; Conner, Bradley, advisor; Barrett, Karen, committee member; Henrry, Kim, committee member
    Health-risk behaviors and self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITBs) have been associated with poor mental health outcomes, and some individuals seem more predisposed to engaging in these behaviors than others. However, the behavioral etiology of health-risk behaviors and SITBs is unclear. Emotion dysregulation, reliance on maladaptive emotion regulation strategies, and the personality dimensions sensation seeking, impulsivity, neuroticism, and conscientiousness (inversely), have all been implicated in maladaptive behaviors, but these constructs have not been evaluated simultaneously. In addition, most research to date has focused on one or a few outcome behaviors, and few studies have examined underlying mechanisms for engagement in different types of health-risk behaviors and SITBs. The current study used latent profile analysis (LPA) to identify classes of individuals based on personality and emotion dysregulation dimensions. Differential engagement in seven behaviors (non-suicidal self-injury, suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, disordered eating, drug use, heavy alcohol use, and unprotected sex), along with reliance on adaptive versus maladaptive emotion regulation strategies, were then evaluated across classes. Class membership was also evaluated as a moderator of the relations between emotion regulation strategies and each behavioral outcome. The LPA discerned three classes of participants. The Emotionally Regulated class displayed lowest levels of emotion dysregulation, impulsivity, neuroticism, and risk seeking and highest levels of conscientiousness and experience seeking. The Urgency Inclined class had middle-range scores on all indicators, with notably elevated scores in positive and negative urgency compared to the Emotionally Regulated class. The Dysregulation Inclined class reported highest levels of emotion dysregulation, impulsivity, neuroticism, and risk seeking and lowest levels of conscientiousness and experience seeking. Classes were primarily derived by emotion dysregulation, urgency facets of impulsivity, and neuroticism. Engagement in outcome behaviors generally increased across the Emotionally Regulated, Urgency Inclined, and Dysregulation Inclined classes, and results suggest that different behavioral phenotypes may underlie engagement in SITBs and disordered eating versus substance use. Reliance on maladaptive emotion regulation strategies increased and adaptive strategies decreased significantly across classes with increasing emotional instability, suggesting that interventions targeting emotion regulation skills may be especially valuable for individuals in the Urgency Inclined and Dysregulation Inclined classes. There was no evidence for moderation between class membership and emotion regulation strategies in predicting outcome behaviors. Results extend previous literature that identifies emotion-related behavioral traits as salient antecedents to engagement in health-risk behaviors and SITBs. Elucidating heterogeneity among individuals who engage in maladaptive behaviors has important implications for interventions among populations at risk of experiencing associated negative outcomes.
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    ItemOpen Access
    Longitudinal panel networks of risk and protective factors in youth suicidality
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Wallace, Gemma T., author; Conner, Bradley T., advisor; Henry, Kimberly L., advisor; Merz, Emily C., committee member; Riggs, Nathaniel R., committee member
    Rates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) are increasing among youth in the United States. Younger age at onset for STBs confers higher vulnerability to lifetime mental health concerns, yet relatively few studies have investigated STBs during the critical developmental period as youth transition from childhood into early adolescence. Several domains of risk and protective factors have been identified, however accurate prediction of STBs remains poor. Network analyses that can examine pairwise associations between many variables may provide information about complex pathways of risk for STBs, thereby improving the timing and targets of interventions. The present study applied a longitudinal panel network approach to elucidate potential risk and protective pathways for STBs across early adolescence. Data came from 9,854 youth who participated in the population-based Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (Mage = 9.90 ± .62 years, 63% white, 53% female at baseline). Youth and their caregivers completed an annual measurement battery from when participants were ages 9-10 through 11-12 years (i.e., three timepoints). 1,699 youth reported past or present STBs at one or more study timepoints. Panel Graphical Vector Autoregressive models evaluated temporal within-person, contemporaneous within-person, and between-person relations between several previously identified risk and protective factors for youth STBs, including mental health symptoms, socioenvironmental factors, life stressors, and substance use. An autoregressive effect was observed for STBs in the temporal network. In the contemporaneous and between-subjects networks, STBs had consistent direct associations with internalizing symptoms, low-level substance use, family conflict, lower parental monitoring, and lower school protective factors. Possible indirect pathways were also observed, in which other mental health symptoms and stressful life events might contribute to STBs through internalizing. Results emphasize that family and school experiences are salient social risk factors for early adolescents. Age-specific interventions may benefit from prioritizing targeting internalizing symptoms and early substance use, as well as promoting positive school and family support. Results support the use of longitudinal network approaches to understand the complex interplay between STBs and different domains of risk and protective factors.