Emotion Regulation and Self-Injury Study

What are we doing and why?

Research has consistently established that individuals who engage in nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) experience deficits in their ability to regulate distress. However, it is unknown how these deficits occur and/or lead to NSSI as people go about their daily lives. 

The purpose of this study is to understand whether individuals who engage in NSSI use it as a first response to acute distress or unsuccessfully deploy other emotion regulation strategies and then endorse NSSI. The aim of this line of research is to better understand the emotional experiences individuals have before and after engaging in NSSI as well as the ways in which they regulate their emotions when they do not use NSSI.

Participating in this study involves completing online questionnaires, interviews via videoconferencing or phone, and responding to brief surveys on your cell phone for 2 weeks. Participants will also be invited to complete a follow-up online questionnaire and an interview 1 month after completing the daily surveys. All study procedures will be completed remotely. Participants can earn up to $120 with a chance to win an additional $100.

You are eligible to participate if you:

• are 18 years of age or older.
• speak and understand English.
• are a resident of the United States.
• have access to the internet via a cellular phone.
• have hurt yourself without the intent to die at least twice in the past 2 weeks.
• do not have a plan to end your life in the foreseeable future.

Please click the button below to complete a brief pre-screening questionnaire and have one of our research team members contact you with more information. 

Research Team

• Swanaya Gurjar - Principal Student Investigator- 216-687-4576 - s.gurjar@vikes.csuohio.edu
• Dr. Yaroslavsky - Co-Principal Investigator - 216-687-9273 - i.yaroslavsky@csuohio.edu
• Cassandra Moilov - Research Assistant - 216-687-4576 - merlab@csuohio.edu