Emotional Reactivity and Proactive Inhibition in NSSI Adolescents Under Negative Emotion Induction.

This study examined proactive inhibitory control and its links to self-reported traits in adolescents with and without nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) under negative emotion. Forty-one adolescents (20 NSSI, 21 controls) completed impulsivity and alexithymia measures, watched a negative film clip, and performed a stop-signal task. Results showed that the NSSI group had higher trait impulsivity and alexithymia, and blunted emotional reactivity after mood induction. In the task, they did not proactively prolong go-trial reaction times to prepare for stop signals, yet their commission error rate on stop trials was similar to controls. No correlations emerged between self-reports and task performance. These findings suggest that trait alexithymia and impulsivity may be more closely associated with NSSI, and that under negative emotional conditions, adolescents with NSSI may have difficulty proactively adjusting their behavior in anticipation of potential signals.