(PS9-42) The Role of Perceived Outcome Expectancies in Shaping Stigma Toward Nonsuicidal Self-Injury

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is intentional damage to an individual’s own body tissue that is done deliberately without suicidal intent (Nock, 2009). Behaviors that are perceived as being controllable and ‘dangerous’ are stigmatized more than those that are perceived as outside of the person’s control and as more benign (Nielsen & Townsend, 2018). NSSI is a particularly stigmatized behavior and lack of understanding around why people engage in self-injury has led to increased stigmatization of these behaviors (Staniland et al., 2022). Stigma negatively impacts a person's willingness to seek treatment for mental health concerns (Corrigan et al., 2014) and increases self-stigma (Piccirillo et al., 2020), therefore it is important to investigate reasons for stigma of these behaviors. The aim of the present study was to test whether stigma would be higher for a hypothetical person with suicidal ideation or NSSI and to test whether outcome expectancies of NSSI would predict stigmatization of these behaviors. Previous research has found that those who expect engaging in NSSI would lead to affect regulation are more likely to engage in NSSI themselves (Hasking & Boyes, 2018), but no research has investigated whether these outcome expectancies predict stigma of those with a history of NSSI. We hypothesized that participants would endorse more stigma against a person with NSSI than a person with suicidal ideation. We also hypothesized that participants who expect that engaging in NSSI leads to interpersonal outcomes (e.g., gaining sympathy from others) versus intrapersonal outcomes (e.g., regulating emotions) would endorse more stigma against a person with NSSI. Participants (n=390) were 18.9 years old on average (SD=1.3) and identified primarily as Caucasian (80.3%) and female (71.3%). Participants completed two modified versions of the Attribution Questionnaire (Corrigan, 2003) assessing their reactions to a hypothetical person with either suicidal ideation or with nonsuicidal self-injurious behaviors. Participants also completed the Nonsuicidal Self-Injury Expectancy Questionnaire (Hasking & Boyes, 2018) measuring participants’ perceptions of outcomes if they were to engage in NSSI. Participants were more likely to pity the person with NSSI, (t(374)=-1.69, p=.046) than the person with suicidal ideation, but also reported being more likely to avoid the person with NSSI, (t(374)=3.50, p< .001). Generally, participants who reported interpersonal outcome expectancies endorsed more stigma, while participants who reported pain as an outcome expectancy reported less stigma. Findings suggest that those who expect that NSSI results in interpersonal outcomes tend to stigmatize those who engage in this behavior more indicating that awareness and anti-stigma campaigns should include education regarding the actual functions of this behavior.