Chloe Hamza: What's the link between non-suicidal self ... - EENet

October 7, 2013
Chloe Hamza:
What’s the link between non-suicidal self-injury
and suicidal behaviour?
What you need to know
With the support of a Vanier Canada Graduate
Scholarship Chloe is analyzing longitudinal survey
data collected from over 1,000 university students
to study the link between non‐suicidal self‐injury
(NSSI) and suicidal behavior. As Chloe stated
“identifying specific risk factors for suicidal
ideation and attempts (for example, non‐suicidal
self‐injury) is of critical importance for developing
effective and focused prevention and intervention
strategies.”
About Chloe
Chloe Hamza is a doctoral student in the
Department of Psychology in the lifespan
development stream at Brock University. She
completed her undergraduate degree in psychology
at King’s University College at Western University.
Chloe’s interest in an academic career first emerged
during her work as a CAMH research assistant.
Because of that experience she found her passion
for psychology, which includes survey and research
design.
A passionate community volunteer, Chloe is a
recipient of the Vanier Canada Graduate
Scholarship, which puts an emphasis on community
involvement in order to support well-rounded
researchers. The Niagara Suicide Prevention
Coalition has benefitted from Chloe’s work. She’ll be
taking what she learns from her research back to
the coalition to further inform their work.

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Chloe’s other scholarships include the Joseph-
Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship,
and the doctoral Ontario Graduate Scholarship.
Chloe’s research has been published in a variety of
academic journals, and she has presented at
several conferences.
What is Chloe’s Research About?
As many as 13 to 38 per cent of undergraduate
students have a lifetime history of non-suicidal selfinjury
(NSSI). This behaviour is defined as selfdirected
deliberate destruction or alteration of bodily
tissue in the absence of suicidal intent–such as selfcutting,
carving, and burning. Although NSSI can be
differentiated from suicidal behavior, emerging
evidence shows that NSSI may lead to increased
suicidal risk (Hamza, Stewart & Willoughby 2012).
Chloe Hamza, a doctoral student in the Department
of Psychology at Brock University, is looking at the
link between NSSI and suicidal behavior. Her work
seeks to identify individuals with a history of NSSI
who are most at risk for suicidal behavior. It also
aims to understand the mechanism through which
NSSI may increase an individual’s risk for suicidal
behavior.
Chloe is analyzing longitudinal survey data collected
from over 1,000 students at Brock University (4
waves of data, each collected one year apart). At
each wave, students completed self-injury
inventories assessing NSSI and suicidal behaviors.
Chloe is also exploring whether NSSI may lead to
increased risk for suicidal behavior through
increased tolerance to pain over time. Her premise
is being examined through a subset of participants
who have also taken part in a lab-based study.
Chloe has built in some safety measures for the
participants completing the survey. Students are
asked if they want to be contacted if they are
feeling extreme stress in their lives and in general
having trouble coping. If the answer is “yes”
trained surveyors can provide mitigating strategies
for these students.
Feedback from students indicates that in general
they appreciated filling out the one-hour survey.
Some indicated that the experience was the first
time they had disclosed their NSSI behaviour.
Students expressed that self-reflection is a very
important part of the survey process.
A newsletter entitled Stressed@Brock brings
survey results and updates to those that
participated in the research. Feedback from the
newsletter shows that participants seem to be
anticipating the newsletters and the general
results.
How can this research be used?
Little is known about the development and
maintenance of suicidal behavior over time,” says
Chloe. “But identifying specific risk factors for
suicidal ideation and attempts (for example, nonsuicidal
self-injury) is of critical importance for
developing effective and focused prevention and
intervention strategies.” Chloe hopes to publish her
research findings in academic journals, and
disseminate the findings at academic and clinical

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conferences. She enjoys the community work as
well and strives to have her work disseminated to
larger audiences.
“I hope that my research can serve to further reveal
the processes through which non-suicidal self-injury
may increase risk for suicide, and assist clinicians in
identifying those individuals most at risk for suicidal
behavior and create effective treatment
approaches.”
What is next for Chloe?
Chloe hopes to obtain a post-doctoral research
fellowship to continue her research on self-injury.
Her long-term professional goal is to become an
independent mental health researcher at an
academic institution or research-based
organization. She also plans to continue to make
her work relevant for community agencies
Selected journal articles that Chloe
has published
Thamza, C., & Willoughby, T. (2013). Nonsuicidal
self-injury and suicidal behavior: A latent class
analysis among young adults. PLOS ONE. doi:
10.1371/journal.pone.0059955.
Project Title: “Examining the Link between
Non-suicidal Self-injury and Suicidal
Behaviour”
Project Supervisors: Dr. Teena
Willoughby, Brock University
Doctoral Committee:
Dr. Dorothy Markiewicz, Brock University
Dr. Linda Rose-Krasnor, Brock University
Hamza, C., Willoughby, T., & Good, M. (2013). A
preliminary examination of the specificity of the
functions of nonsuicidal self-injury among a sample
of university students. Psychiatry Research, 205,
172-175. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2012.08.036.
Hamza, C., & Willoughby, T. (2013). A longitudinal
person-centred examination of nonsuicidal selfinjury
among university students. Journal of Youth
and Adolescence. doi:10.1007/s10964-013-9991-8.
For more information about Chloe’s research,
please contact her at ch08za@brocku.ca.
Author: Bonnie Polych, M.Ed.
Regional Knowledge Exchange Lead
October 7, 2013