It is desirable to promote the sense of MiL in adolescents. MiL plays a significant and strong mediator role in the relationship between emotional dysregulation and hopelessness, reinforcing the positive role of MiL in mental health and as a resource for facing adversity.
Background: Adolescence is a developmental stage when there is a high risk of engaging in non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). There is recent interest in the study of thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensome as variables associated with the frequency of NSSI in adolescents. Meaning in life (MIL) might be negatively associated with thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness. To date, no studies have analyzed the buffering role of MIL in the association between thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness and the frequency of lifetime NSSI in Spanish adolescents. Aims: (a) To test whether thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness are associated with frequency of lifetime NSSI; (b) to test whether MIL moderates the association between thwarted belongingness and frequency of lifetime NSSI; and (c) to test whether MIL moderates the association between perceived burdensomeness and frequency of lifetime NSSI. Method: The sample consisted of N = 1531 participants (n = 736, 48.1%, were men, and n = 795, 51.9%, were women) between 12 and 18 years old from Spain. The participants filled out the Inventory of Statements about Self-Injury, Purpose-In-Life Test-Adolescent Version, and Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire. Moderation analyses were performed. Results: No statistically significant differences were found in the frequency of lifetime NSSI in the adolescents based on gender. Thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness were positively associated with the frequency of lifetime NSSI in Spanish adolescents. MIL was a moderating variable between thwarted belongingness and the frequency of lifetime NSSI, and between perceived burdensomeness and the frequency of lifetime NSSI. Conclusions: Thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness might be positively associated with the frequency of lifetime NSSI, and MIL might be negatively associated with the frequency of lifetime NSSI. Thus, adding these variables to current descriptive theories of NSSI in adolescents would allow us to improve assessment and treatment protocols for adolescents with NSSI.
BackgroundThwarted Belongingness (TB) and Perceived Burdensomeness (PB) are considered risk factors of suicide behavior in the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide and constitute the main factors of the Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire—INQ.AimsThe present study analyzes the internal consistency, construct validity, and invariance across sex and age of the INQ-15, which comprises two subscales, in a sample of Spanish community adolescents.MethodsParticipants were 1,536 adolescents from 12 to 19 years old. The INQ-15, the total number of non-suicidal self-injuries (NSSI), the Hopelessness Scale, and the Purpose in Life Test-Adolescents (PIL-A) were used.ResultsThe INQ-15 showed good internal consistency for TB (ω¯ = 0.88) and PB (ω¯ = 0.78) subscales and construct and concurrent/discriminant validity in the whole sample. Both the PB and TB subscales showed a good fit {SBχ2(9) = 6.448, p = 0.694, CFI = 1.000, RMSEA = 0.000 [90% CI (0.000, 0.022)] and SBχ2(27) = 248.973, p = 0.000, CFI = 0.922, RMSEA = 0.073 [90% CI (0.065, 0.082)]}, respectively. Regarding the invariance analyses, we found (1) non-invariance in the PB subscale across sex groups and metric, scalar, and stric invariance across age groups, and (2) that it was not possible to perform the invariance analysis for the TB subscale across both sex and age because the fit was not adequate for both boys and 12–15 years old groups. Positive and significant relationships were found between the INQ-15 subscales and hopelessness and NSSI frequency, and negative and significant correlations with meaning in life.ConclusionsThe INQ-15 is a valid instrument for assessing TB and PB in Spanish adolescents. Future studies should analyze the invariance of this instrument in adolescents across sex and age.
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