The Relationship Between Traumatic Experiences And Non-suicidal Self-injury In Adolescents

Non-suicidal self-injury is the deliberate,self-directed damage of body tissue without suicidal intent and for purposes not socially or culturally sanctioned,such as cutting,burning,and scratching.Non-suicidal self-injury,as a risk behavior in the adolescent population and a public health problem worldwide that cannot be ignored,has also become a research hotspot for Chinese scholars in recent years.Although many studies have investigated the status of non-suicidal self-injury among adolescents,there remains inconsistent evidence of prevalence,gender differences,and other factors due to differences in measurement instruments,survey samples,and cultural and period contexts.If we want to provide more comprehensive and realistic help to self-injured adolescents,we should further explore how the different hierarchies of negative and positive influences can work together in a systematic and integrated model,which is also in line with the advocacy philosophy of positive psychology.More importantly,previous studies have been conducted mainly among adolescents in Western cultural contexts.In contrast,Chinese traditional culture has a unique concept of family,and the exploration of non-suicidal self-injury mechanisms based on Chinese adolescents still needs to be supplemented and validated by more empirical data.The purpose of this study was to firstly describe the status of non-suicidal selfinjury among Chinese adolescents through a survey,and secondly to validate the predictive role of traumatic experiences and difficulties in emotion regulation on nonsuicidal self-injury,and then to explore the protective role of family functioning and self-compassion as in it.To provide more empirical support and practical clues for the prevention and intervention of non-suicidal self-injury.This study was divided into three parts.Study 1 described the status of adolescents with non-suicidal self-injury,including prevalence,gender differences and their relationship with anxiety and depression.Study 2 used a questionnaire to survey the relationship between traumatic experiences,emotional regulation difficulties,selfinjurious behaviors,family functioning,and self-compassion status of high school seniors in a school.Study 3 used a qualitative approach,interviewing nine female students with non-suicidal self-injury and analyzing the texts obtained from the interviews using interpretative phenomenological analysis.The main findings obtained from this study include(1)the current prevalence of non-suicidal self-injury among adolescents is 28.78%;(2)the most frequently used form is cutting oneself,typically in the form of cutting one’s small arms,thighs,and other parts with sharp objects such as utility knives;(3)traumatic experiences can directly predict non-suicidal self-injury among adolescents and also indirectly predict non-suicidal self-injurious behavior through difficulties in emotion regulation;(3)family functioning and self-compassion play the protective role in the predictive role of difficulties in emotion regulation on non-suicidal self-injury;(5)non-suicidal selfinjured adolescents had some positive strengths and positive cognitions,but relatively weak social support systems,lack of social skills.The applied implication of this study is that it can provide empirical clues for the prevention and intervention of non-suicidal self-injury.In terms of the adolescents themselves,they should be trained in self-compassion and emotion regulation skills,and for their family system,their family functioning should be enhanced through family education and other forms.