Non-suicidal self-injury and digital ostracism: a novel smartphone-based paradigm capturing real-time responses to social media exclusion.
11 affiliations
- 1Department of Mental Health, Hospital Universitari d'Igualada (Consorci Sanitari de l'Anoia) & Fundació Sanitària d'Igualada, Igualada (Barcelona), Spain.
- 2Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology Department, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, Barcelona, Spain.
- 3Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
- 4Department of Cognition, Development and Educational Psychology, Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
- 5Cognition and Brain Plasticity Unit, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Barcelona, Spain.
- 6Department of Personality, Evaluation and Psychological Treatment, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain.
- 7Department of Computer Science, School of Engineering, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain.
- 8Department of Psychiatry, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica-Sant Pau (IIB-Sant Pau), Barcelona, Spain.
- 9Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
- 10Mental Health Department, Consorci Hospitalari de Vic, Barcelona, Spain.
- 11Department of Mental Health, Hospital Universitari d'Igualada (Consorci Sanitari de l'Anoia) & Fundació Sanitària d'Igualada, Igualada (Barcelona), Spain. [email protected].
Abstract
Background
Ostracism on social media is a common and emotionally salient stressor. However, its moment-to-moment psychological and behavioral consequences, remain poorly understood in individuals with Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD).Methods
Using an Instagram-mimicking smartphone platform (Socializapp) coupled with Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA), we examined responses to experimentally manipulated peer feedback across 7 days in three groups: healthy Controls (HC; n = 20), NSSI without BPD (NSSI; n = 18), and comorbid BPD+NSSI (n = 17). Participants were exposed to Inclusion, Partial Exclusion, and Exclusion conditions. Linear and generalized linear mixed-effects models tested within-person effects on perceived exclusion and approval, affective reactivity, objective engagement (Likes and Comments) and NSSI urges, with borderline traits (BPQ) modeled dimensionally.Results
Compliance was high, supporting feasibility. The manipulation was perceived as intended, with perceived exclusion increasing and perceived approval decreasing stepwise from Inclusion to Partial and Full Exclusion across participants. Exclusion also increased negative affect, reduced positive affect, and suppressed effortful interaction (fewer comments). In exploratory analyses, Exclusion was associated with more than a threefold increase in the odds of reporting an NSSI urge, after adjusting for borderline severity. While the data more clearly supported a baseline negative appraisal bias associated with borderline severity (even under objectively favorable feedback) evidence for cross-level moderation effects remained inconclusive.Conclusions
Social media ostracism emerges as a relevant interpersonal stressor for individuals with NSSI, producing detectable shifts in online engagement and, in exploratory analysis, increases in self-harm urges and changes. Borderline severity tracked a sustained negative interpretation of social feedback, although potential moderation effects regarding exclusion reactivity remained inconclusive. These findings establish Socializapp as a feasible paradigm and highlight everyday digital social experiences as meaningful targets for understanding short-term fluctuations in NSSI vulnerability.
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BibTeX
@article{schmidt2026nonsuicidal,
title = {{Non-suicidal self-injury and digital ostracism: a novel smartphone-based paradigm capturing real-time responses to social media exclusion.}},
author = {Carlos Schmidt and Stella Nicolaou and Daniela Otero and Josep Marco-Pallarés and Diana Castilla and Irene Zaragoza and Joaquim Soler and Juan Carlos Pascual and Daniel Vega},
journal = {Borderline personality disorder and emotion dysregulation},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1186/s40479-026-00364-0},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42902346},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Non-suicidal self-injury and digital ostracism: a novel smartphone-based paradigm capturing real-time responses to social media exclusion.
AU - Carlos Schmidt
AU - Stella Nicolaou
AU - Daniela Otero
AU - Josep Marco-Pallarés
AU - Diana Castilla
AU - Irene Zaragoza
AU - Joaquim Soler
AU - Juan Carlos Pascual
AU - Daniel Vega
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/01
JO - Borderline personality disorder and emotion dysregulation
DO - 10.1186/s40479-026-00364-0
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42902346
AB - Background Ostracism on social media is a common and emotionally salient stressor. However, its moment-to-moment psychological and behavioral consequences, remain poorly understood in individuals with Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD).Methods Using an Instagram-mimicking smartphone platform (Socializapp) coupled with Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA), we examined responses to experimentally manipulated peer feedback across 7 days in three groups: healthy Controls (HC; n = 20), NSSI without BPD (NSSI; n = 18), and comorbid BPD+NSSI (n = 17). Participants were exposed to Inclusion, Partial Exclusion, and Exclusion conditions. Linear and generalized linear mixed-effects models tested within-person effects on perceived exclusion and approval, affective reactivity, objective engagement (Likes and Comments) and NSSI urges, with borderline traits (BPQ) modeled dimensionally.Results Compliance was high, supporting feasibility. The manipulation was perceived as intended, with perceived exclusion increasing and perceived approval decreasing stepwise from Inclusion to Partial and Full Exclusion across participants. Exclusion also increased negative affect, reduced positive affect, and suppressed effortful interaction (fewer comments). In exploratory analyses, Exclusion was associated with more than a threefold increase in the odds of reporting an NSSI urge, after adjusting for borderline severity. While the data more clearly supported a baseline negative appraisal bias associated with borderline severity (even under objectively favorable feedback) evidence for cross-level moderation effects remained inconclusive.Conclusions Social media ostracism emerges as a relevant interpersonal stressor for individuals with NSSI, producing detectable shifts in online engagement and, in exploratory analysis, increases in self-harm urges and changes. Borderline severity tracked a sustained negative interpretation of social feedback, although potential moderation effects regarding exclusion reactivity remained inconclusive. These findings establish Socializapp as a feasible paradigm and highlight everyday digital social experiences as meaningful targets for understanding short-term fluctuations in NSSI vulnerability.
SN - 2051-6673
ER -