Penelope Hasking

Curtin University · School of Psychology

Background Physical inactivity is a leading contributor to the development of non-communicable diseases including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. Public health messages that advocate activity guidelines with specific duration thresholds (e.g., 30 minutes per day) have had limited success. This approach may risk an ‘all or nothing’ min...

Background Suicidal behaviors are prevalent among college students; however, students remain reluctant to seek support. We developed a predictive algorithm to identify students at risk of suicidal behavior and used telehealth to reduce subsequent risk. Methods Data come from s everal waves of a prospective cohort study (2016–2022) of college stude...

This handbook is currently in development, with individual articles publishing online in advance of print publication. At this time, we cannot add information about unpublished articles in this handbook; however, the table of contents will continue to grow as additional articles pass through the review process and are added to the site. Please note...

Although the literature suggests trait-like differences in affective and cognitive vulnerabilities between individuals with and without a history of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), little is known about how these dispositional differences are experienced in the natural environment. The present study compares the intensity, inertia, interaction, an...

This handbook is currently in development, with individual articles publishing online in advance of print publication. At this time, we cannot add information about unpublished articles in this handbook; however, the table of contents will continue to grow as additional articles pass through the review process and are added to the site. Please note...

Background: Despite the threat of self-selection bias to the generalizability of research findings, remarkably little is known about who chooses to take part in non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) research specifically. We aimed to establish the extent of willingness to take part in NSSI research within a commonly sampled population before assessing w...

This handbook is currently in development, with individual articles publishing online in advance of print publication. At this time, we cannot add information about unpublished articles in this handbook, however the table of contents will continue to grow as additional articles pass through the review process and are added to the site. Please note...

Not everyone who shares their lived experience of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) in research has disclosed this previously outside of a research context. Our objective was to identify reasons people who have not previously disclosed their NSSI felt comfortable discussing their self-injury in research contexts. The sample consisted of 70 individuals...

Background: Despite the threat of self-selection bias to the generalisability of research findings, remarkably little is known about who chooses to take part in nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) research specifically. We aimed to establish the extent of willingness to take part in NSSI research within a commonly sampled population before assessing whe...

Objective: Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a major public health issue. Despite increased research efforts in clinical samples, we still have little understanding of the short-term correlates, predictors, and targets of NSSI among treatment-seeking individuals. The present study was designed to (a) evaluate how suicidal thoughts, interpersonal d...

This handbook is currently in development, with individual articles publishing online in advance of print publication. At this time, we cannot add information about unpublished articles in this handbook, however the table of contents will continue to grow as additional articles pass through the review process and are added to the site. Please note...

Non-suicidal self-injury is a behaviour that is perplexing to many, as it appears to counter the human instinct for survival and to avoid injury. Yet self-injury is a relatively common behaviour, particularly among adolescents and young adults. Reasons individuals self-injure are variable; however, it is a behaviour that is usually used as a means...

This handbook is currently in development, with individual articles publishing online in advance of print publication. At this time, we cannot add information about unpublished articles in this handbook, however the table of contents will continue to grow as additional articles pass through the review process and are added to the site. Please note...

Objective: Disclosure of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is associated with a range of both positive (e.g., help-seeking) and negative (e.g., discrimination) outcomes. The aim of this study was to assess the importance of a range of factors concerned with: NSSI experiences, self-efficacy to disclose self-injury, interpersonal factors, and reasons f...

Objectives: Perfectionism is linked to nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI). Individuals with elevated perfectionism tend to avoid undesirable emotions and experience lower self-esteem, which are associated with NSSI. However, it is unclear if these mechanisms explain the link between clinical perfectionism and NSSI, and if locus of control is involved....

Background and objectives: Theoretical models of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) propose that individuals who self-injure may find their attention more strongly captured by negative emotion, and that this intensifies distress which leads to episodes of NSSI. Elevated perfectionism is associated with NSSI, and when an individual is highly perfectio...

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) has garnered increasing academic and media attention in society. While more awareness of NSSI is welcomed, inappropriate reporting of NSSI in media could heighten the potential for stigmatization and misunderstanding of NSSI and people who engage in it. Further, certain kinds of content (e.g., graphic imagery) may be...

Introduction: Parents of children with dyslexia may be at elevated risk for parenting stress and mental health concerns. Our aim was to explore the emotional experience of growing up with dyslexia in Australia from parents' perspectives. In so doing, we also developed an understanding of parents' own mental health and support needs informed by the...

Background: Contemporary models of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) suggest that emotional vulnerabilities, negative self-schemas, and beliefs about NSSI work together to differentiate students who self-injure from those who do not. However, it is unclear how these mechanisms are differentially related among students with and without a history of N...

Self-injury, the purposeful damaging of one’s own body tissue without suicidal intent represents a common and significant mental health concern across the globe. Notwithstanding the major strides made in our understanding of self-injury over the past twenty years, it remains enveloped by substantial stigma and misunderstanding. Unfortunately, this...

Self-injury, the purposeful damaging of one’s own body tissue without suicidal intent represents a common and significant mental health concern across the globe. Notwithstanding the major strides made in our understanding of self-injury over the past twenty years, it remains enveloped by substantial stigma and misunderstanding. Unfortunately, this...

Self-injury, the purposeful damaging of one’s own body tissue without suicidal intent represents a common and significant mental health concern across the globe. Notwithstanding the major strides made in our understanding of self-injury over the past twenty years, it remains enveloped by substantial stigma and misunderstanding. Unfortunately, this...

Self-injury, the purposeful damaging of one’s own body tissue without suicidal intent represents a common and significant mental health concern across the globe. Notwithstanding the major strides made in our understanding of self-injury over the past twenty years, it remains enveloped by substantial stigma and misunderstanding. Unfortunately, this...

Self-injury, the purposeful damaging of one’s own body tissue without suicidal intent represents a common and significant mental health concern across the globe. Notwithstanding the major strides made in our understanding of self-injury over the past twenty years, it remains enveloped by substantial stigma and misunderstanding. Unfortunately, this...

Self-injury, the purposeful damaging of one’s own body tissue without suicidal intent represents a common and significant mental health concern across the globe. Notwithstanding the major strides made in our understanding of self-injury over the past twenty years, it remains enveloped by substantial stigma and misunderstanding. Unfortunately, this...

Self-injury, the purposeful damaging of one’s own body tissue without suicidal intent represents a common and significant mental health concern across the globe. Notwithstanding the major strides made in our understanding of self-injury over the past twenty years, it remains enveloped by substantial stigma and misunderstanding. Unfortunately, this...

Self-injury, the purposeful damaging of one’s own body tissue without suicidal intent represents a common and significant mental health concern across the globe. Notwithstanding the major strides made in our understanding of self-injury over the past twenty years, it remains enveloped by substantial stigma and misunderstanding. Unfortunately, this...

Self-injury, the purposeful damaging of one’s own body tissue without suicidal intent represents a common and significant mental health concern across the globe. Notwithstanding the major strides made in our understanding of self-injury over the past twenty years, it remains enveloped by substantial stigma and misunderstanding. Unfortunately, this...

Self-injury, the purposeful damaging of one’s own body tissue without suicidal intent represents a common and significant mental health concern across the globe. Notwithstanding the major strides made in our understanding of self-injury over the past twenty years, it remains enveloped by substantial stigma and misunderstanding. Unfortunately, this...

Self-injury, the purposeful damaging of one’s own body tissue without suicidal intent represents a common and significant mental health concern across the globe. Notwithstanding the major strides made in our understanding of self-injury over the past twenty years, it remains enveloped by substantial stigma and misunderstanding. Unfortunately, this...

Self-injury, the purposeful damaging of one’s own body tissue without suicidal intent represents a common and significant mental health concern across the globe. Notwithstanding the major strides made in our understanding of self-injury over the past twenty years, it remains enveloped by substantial stigma and misunderstanding. Unfortunately, this...

Self-injury, the purposeful damaging of one’s own body tissue without suicidal intent represents a common and significant mental health concern across the globe. Notwithstanding the major strides made in our understanding of self-injury over the past twenty years, it remains enveloped by substantial stigma and misunderstanding. Unfortunately, this...

Self-injury, the purposeful damaging of one’s own body tissue without suicidal intent represents a common and significant mental health concern across the globe. Notwithstanding the major strides made in our understanding of self-injury over the past twenty years, it remains enveloped by substantial stigma and misunderstanding. Unfortunately, this...

Self-injury, the purposeful damaging of one’s own body tissue without suicidal intent represents a common and significant mental health concern across the globe. Notwithstanding the major strides made in our understanding of self-injury over the past twenty years, it remains enveloped by substantial stigma and misunderstanding. Unfortunately, this...

Background: More than one-third of university students meet diagnostic criteria for a mental disorder, and three quarters experience role impairment in some aspect of their life. One determinant of whether young adults will experience mental health difficulties is their ability to regulate emotion. We conducted two pilot trials of a brief online pr...

To assist intervention developers assess the likely effectiveness of messages designed to encourage greater use of protective behavioral strategies, this study developed and tested the Alcohol Message Perceived Effectiveness Scale (AMPES). Recommendations from the message effectiveness literature were used to guide AMPES development. The resulting...

Children with dyslexia are at elevated risk of internalising and externalising mental health concerns. Our aim was to scope the extent and nature of the literature investigating factors which may influence this association. We systematically searched the peer-reviewed and grey literature with no restrictions on the date. We included both qualitativ...

Objectives Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is the intentional and deliberate damage to an individual's own body tissue without the intent to suicide. Individuals who have higher self-reported levels of experiential avoidance are more likely to report a history of NSSI. The current study systematically reviewed the literature and meta-analysed studi...

We tested whether difficulties in emotion regulation mediated the association between family functioning and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), and whether associations between family functioning, emotion regulation, and NSSI were moderated by social support. University students (N = 846, 75.8% female, 35.5% with a history of NSSI, Mage = 20.76) comp...

Gatekeepers play a pivotal role in protecting individuals under their care and are central to keeping people safe and away from harm. In the field of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), a range of gatekeepers exist, including those who protect access to vulnerable research participants, those who protect school children, those charged with making decis...

Plastic pollution is an acute issue, with single-use plastic contributing to it significantly. It is beneficial for the planet if we engage in more sustainable behaviors, such as using reusable items instead of single-use ones, thus reducing plastic pollution. We implemented an intervention to increase the use of reusable coffee cups, by employing...

Background: More than one third of university students meet diagnostic criteria for a mental disorder, and three quarters experience role impairment in some aspect of their life. One determinant of whether young adults will experience mental health difficulties is their ability to regulate emotion. We conducted two pilot trials of a brief online pr...

Objective: Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a major public health issue. Despite increased research efforts in clinical samples, we still have little understanding of the short-term correlates, predictors, and targets of NSSI among treatment-seeking individuals. The current study was designed to (a) evaluate how suicidal thoughts, interpersonal d...

Although the literature suggests trait-like differences in affective and cognitive vulnerabilities between individuals with and without a history of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), little is known about how these dispositional differences are experienced in the natural environment. In the present study, we compare the intensity, stability, interac...

Children with dyslexia, compared with typically reading peers, are at increased risk of internalising (e.g., anxiety) and externalising (e.g., aggression) mental health concerns; why this is the case is largely unknown. Our aim was to explore the socio‐emotional experience of growing up with dyslexia from both child and parent perspectives. In so d...

Background Although non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is known typically to begin in adolescence, longitudinal information is lacking about patterns, predictors, and clinical outcomes of NSSI persistence among emerging adults. The present study was designed to (1) estimate NSSI persistence during the college period, (2) identify risk factors and high...

Despite suicide ideation being one of the most frequently reported health issues impacting tertiary students, there is a paucity of research evaluating the efficacy of preventive interventions aimed at improving mental health outcomes for students studying at two tertiary institutes. The current study evaluated the efficacy of the “Talk-to-Me” Mass...

Objective The responsibility of implementing nonsuicidal self‐injury (NSSI) policy falls largely on school principals, yet few have received training regarding adolescent NSSI. Understanding principals' perceptions and roles in responding to NSSI among their students is essential to determining how best to address and reduce NSSI within school sett...

Language is a powerful form of communication that not only conveys ideas and knowledge but also can assign meaning and value to the world around us. As such, language has the power to shape our attitudes toward individuals, behaviors, and ideas, by labeling them (indirectly or not) as "good" or "bad." In this way, language can be used to propagate...

Objective: This study examined the overlap between considering oneself to have stopped nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) and the actual cessation of the behavior in terms of days self-injured in the last month and last year, and how these operationalizations are associated with constructs related to NSSI recovery. Methods: A cross-sectional survey...

Research into nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) has primarily focussed on the experience and regulation of emotion. Recently, NSSI-specific cognitions, including self-efficacy to resist self-injury, have been explored to further understand the behaviour. However, within these studies self-efficacy to resist NSSI has been assessed broadly using an adap...

Introduction Emotional dysfunction and dysregulation are defining features of affective disorders. People differ in their beliefs about how controllable and useful negative and positive emotions are, and the process model of emotion regulation postulates that such beliefs play a central role in determining how people progress from emotion generatio...

Background: Due to cognitive and emotional differences between individuals who have and have not stopped self-injuring, we explored these in the context of desire to stop. Method: Australian university students (n = 374) completed cognitive and emotional measures. Comparisons were made between those who had self-injured in the past 12 months and...

Background Emotion regulation, distress tolerance, experiential avoidance, and both positive and negative affect have all been linked to NSSI. These constructs are proposed to be distinct; however, they share conceptual similarities. For example, some people may regulate emotions by avoiding stressful situations, conflating emotion regulation and a...

Despite significant impacts to mental health and support-seeking, non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) stigma remains under-studied and poorly understood. Recently, the NSSI Stigma Framework was proposed, conceptualizing NSSI stigma as comprising six constructs (origin, concealability, course, peril, aesthetics, disruptiveness) that manifest across four...

Background Self-harm is a deliberate act to cause physical harm to oneself. People who self-harm are at greater risk for suicide than people who do not self-harm. Emergency nurses are first responders to many people who present to the emergency department (ED) with self-harm. The care they provide can influence future presentations to the emergency...

Objective: Using the Emotional Cascade Model as a theoretical framework, this study tested whether the relationship between perfectionism and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) operates through rumination and negative affect. Additionally, we tested whether the associations between perfectionism and both rumination and negative affect are moderated b...

Purpose Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is associated with psychological disorders and suicidal thoughts and behaviours; disclosure of NSSI can serve as a catalyst for help-seeking and self-advocacy amongst people who have self-injured. This study aims to identify the socio-demographic, NSSI-related, socio-cognitive and socio-emotional correlates o...

Background This study investigates associations of several dimensions of childhood adversities (CAs) with lifetime mental disorders, 12-month disorder persistence, and impairment among incoming college students. Methods Data come from the World Mental Health International College Student Initiative (WMH-ICS). Web-based surveys conducted in nine co...

Introduction Mental health problems are common among tertiary education students, with concerning levels of suicide ideation frequently observed in this population. There is a need for evidence-based mental health education and suicide prevention programs designed to meet the specific needs of these students. The “Talk-to-Me” Mass Open Online Cours...

As a conduit of knowledge for the general public, news media inform the development and maintenance of attitudes and beliefs about a range of topics, including mental health and related behaviors. News media portrayals of such topics can therefore contribute to stigma - the culmination of harmful stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination. A topic...

Objective To examine the prevalence of ADHD and the association of comorbid disorders, and multivariate disorder classes with role impairment in college students. Method About 15,991 freshmen (24 colleges, 9 countries, WMH-ICS) (response rate = 45.6%) completed online WMH-CIDI-SC surveys for 6-month ADHD and six 12-month DSM-IV disorders. We exami...

Introduction/Background: Cognitive behaviour therapy often focuses on improving emotion regulation skills, so the assessment of emotion regulation is important. People regulate both negative and positive emotions, and their ability to do this successfully is a cornerstone of adaptive psychological functioning. However, until recently, few measures...

Background: Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is the deliberate damage of one's own body tissue in the absence of suicidal intent. Research suggests that individuals engage in NSSI as a means of regulating their emotions and that NSSI is associated with emotion regulation difficulties. There is also evidence supporting the role of outcome expectanci...

We investigated emotion profiles among undergraduate students with lived experience of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and their associations with different NSSI functions and other dysregulated behaviors, including risky drinking, symptoms of borderline personality disorder, eating disorders, anxiety, depression, and stress. A sample of 270 underg...

Perfectionism is a transdiagnostic process which may be implicated in the onset and maintenance of non-suicidal self-injury. No study has evaluated whether reported differences in perfectionism between individuals with and without a history of self-injury represent genuine group differences or measurement artefacts. The present study reports an inv...

Background Ever since alexithymia was defined in the 1970s, robust associations have been observed between alexithymia and a variety of symptoms of psychopathology. Alexithymia is now widely regarded as an important transdiagnostic risk factor, and it is frequently assessed in clinical and research settings. However, despite this strong interest, i...

Paper presented at the 2021 Conference on Transdiagnostic Approaches, 24th September, Manchester, United Kingdom (Online). Background: Ever since alexithymia was defined in the 1970s, robust associations have been observed between alexithymia and a variety of symptoms of psychopathology. Alexithymia is now widely regarded as an important transdiag...

Psychotic experiences (PEs) are robustly associated with subsequent non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicide attempts, but questions remain as to the temporal relation and underlying cause of this association. Most investigations have incorporated only two waves of data, and no study has comprehensively investigated mediating pathways. This stud...

Objective The Emotional Cascade Model posits that nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) functions to distract from cascades of intense negative emotion and rumination. We investigated the moderating role of rumination in the relationships between reactivity, intensity, and perseveration of emotion and NSSI. Method University students (N = 992) completed...

PurposeTo investigate the associations of childhood adversities (CAs) with lifetime onset and transitions across suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB) among incoming college students.Methods Web-based self-report surveys administered to 20,842 incoming college students from nine countries (response rate 45.6%) assessed lifetime suicidal ideation, p...

People regulate both negative and positive emotions, and their ability to do this successfully is a cornerstone of adaptive psychological functioning. However, few measures have been available to assess emotion regulation ability across both valence domains. The Perth Emotion Regulation Competency Inventory (PERCI) was recently developed for this p...

Contemporary models of NSSI emphasise that emotion dysregulation plays a key role in the behaviour. People commonly regulate both negative and positive emotions, but for the past few decades, the measures of emotion regulation traditionally used in the NSSI field have only assessed negative emotions. The Perth Emotion Regulation Competency Inventor...

Background Although non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is an issue of major concern to colleges worldwide, we lack detailed information about the epidemiology of NSSI among college students. The objectives of this study were to present the first cross-national data on the prevalence of NSSI and NSSI disorder among first-year college students and its a...

Introduction Alcohol is a major source of harm worldwide. The aim of this study was to experimentally assess the effects of exposing Australian adult drinkers to combinations of ‘why to reduce’ and ‘how to reduce’ alcohol harm-reduction messages. Methods Three online surveys were administered over six weeks: Time 1 at baseline (n=7,995), Time 2 at...

Loneliness is a risk factor for mental disorders and is a significant and growing public health issue, but to date, loneliness interventions have had limited success. We propose that an emotion regulation perspective might be useful for understanding loneliness and for suggesting new treatment targets. In this study, our aim was to test the basis f...

The Emotional Image Tolerance (EIT) task assesses tolerance of negative emotion induced by negatively valenced images. We made several minor modifications to the task (Study 1) and adapted the task to include positive and neutral images in order to assess whether individuals respond to the valence or the intensity of the image content (Study 2). In...

People regulate both negative and positive emotions, and their ability to do this successfully is a cornerstone of adaptive psychological functioning. However, few measures have been available to assess emotion regulation ability across both valence domains. The Perth Emotion Regulation Competency Inventory (PERCI) was recently developed for this p...

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a behavior that can be perplexing to many people. Usually engaged as a means of regulating intense or unwanted emotions, it seems to counter the human instinct to avoid pain and harm to the self. The language people use to talk about NSSI, and individuals who engage in the behavior, can contribute to the significan...

Nonsuicidal self-injury is a common and serious concern because of its association with multiple psychiatric difficulties and illnesses as well as its robust association with suicidal thinking and behavior. Yet many individuals who self-injure find it difficult to talk about their experiences, and many service providers find addressing self-injury...

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is the intentional damage to one’s body tissue in the absence of suicidal intent. NSSI primarily serves an emotion regulation function, with individuals engaging in self-injury to escape intense or unwanted emotion. Low distress tolerance has been identified as a mechanism that underlies self-injury, and is commonly...

Introduction ‘Count your drinks’ is a protective behavioural strategy (PBS) that has been found to be effective in reducing alcohol consumption. Previous research has shown that females, older people and low‐risk drinkers are more likely to use this strategy, but little is known about the attitudinal factors associated with engaging in drink counti...

Purpose Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a growing public health concern. Continued NSSI is often associated with negative outcomes, yet the behaviour usually serves a purpose for individuals who self-injure (e.g. emotional relief). As such, individuals who self-injure often experience ambivalence about the behaviour. The purpose of this paper is...

Introduction. Alexithymia, a trait encompassing difficulties identifying and describing one's feelings, and a tendency to focus externally, is positively associated with both non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and risky drinking. The relationships between alexithymia and both behaviours are well researched, however, it is unclear whether both associat...

Background: Difficulties in emotion regulation are a key risk factor for affective disorders. The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) is a 10-item measure of two emotion regulation strategies, cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. It is widely used tool in the United States, however, most psychometric studies of the ERQ have so far b...

Objective A measure was recently developed which assesses self-efficacy to resist NSSI across differing contexts. The aim of this study was to examine how self-efficacy to resist NSSI across contexts interacts with NSSI-related outcome expectancies when differentiating NSSI history. Participant: 501 Australian college students aged 17–40 years (M =...

Growing interest has been paid to the concept of non‐suicidal self‐injury (NSSI) recovery. In research, and sometimes clinical practice, the focus has been on NSSI cessation, with recovery operationalised with reference to the time since someone last self‐injured. Yet, perspectives from people with lived experience of NSSI indicate that recovery is...

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), which involves deliberate damage to body tissue without suicidal intent, has long been a concern for schools and school staff. Secondary schools are an ideal setting in which to identify, and appropriately refer, students who self-injure as well as implement evidence-based prevention and early intervention programs....

Non‐suicidal self‐injury (NSSI) is a major public health concern and is also associated with increased risk of suicide. The type of care people with NSSI receive at the hospital impacts their health outcomes. This study explored emergency department (ED) and mental health nurses’ (MHNs) understanding, attitudes, empathy and confidence to work with...

Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) and risky drinking have a shared emotion regulatory function. Alexithymia is an important risk factor for both behaviors. However, it is conceivable that the emotional processing difficulties thought to underlie both behaviors may contribute to differences between people who self-injure or drink in a risky fashion, a...