Mindfulness as a Protective Factor for the Relationship Between Self-Injury

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Suicide and self-injury are prominent issues among college students (Pristorello, Fruzzeetti, MacLane, Gallop, & Iverson, 2012). This manuscript seeks to explore the primary research question: Does mindfulness serve as a moderating factor for the relationship between recent self- injury and recent suicide attempts among college students? Data collected in 2011 by the National Research Consortium of Counseling Centers in Higher Education was used for the current study. The 2011 study yielded a sample of 26, 292 college students from 75 different 4- year universities across the United States. Participants completed a 79-item survey, which included the Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale-Revised (CAMS-R), demographic variables, and items related to suicide-related behaviors. Multi-level modeling was utilized to explore the main research question, using mindfulness, self-injury, and demographic variables on the individual level, and participants' schools on the second level of the model to account for any clustering of the data. Results indicate that self-injury (X² = 2167.26, p<.001) and mindfulness (F = 146.19, p<.001) are significantly related to suicide attempts, in the positive and negative direction, respectively. As well, mindfulness significantly moderated the interaction between self-injury and suicide attempt(s) (B=063, p=.034). This manuscript suggests that mindfulness may be a beneficial element of prevention efforts for suicide, especially among those who have self-injured in the past.