Background Adolescent non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is common and adolescence is the most common period of first self-injury, and the occurrence of NSSI is influenced by negative life events and emotional symptoms. The mediating role of emotional symptoms in the interaction between negative life events and NSSI has not been carefully investigated yet. Methods For middle school students in three schools in a Chinese province, the Adolescents Self-Harm Scale was used to investigate NSSI, the Adolescent Self-Rating Life Events Check List was used to investigate adolescent negative life events, and the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale and Self-Rating Depression Scale were used to assess their emotional symptoms. After the description of general data and the test for differences between groups, the relationship between negative life events, emotional symptoms and NSSI was analyzed using Pearson correlation analysis. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the mediating role of emotions in negative life events and NSSI. Results A total of 2376 junior high school students completed this survey, which revealed an annual NSSI prevalence of 37.1% (n = 881) and a higher prevalence of NSSI among girls and rural adolescents. Among adolescents who developed NSSI, 67.4% (N = 594) used multiple means of self-injury. The most common means of self-injury was hair pulling (51.0%), and the most common NSSI purpose and external factors/events were venting bad emotions or feelings (57.5%) and poor academic performance (44.9%), respectively. Negative life events, emotional symptoms and NSSI were positively associated (P < 0.05). Structural equation modeling with negative life events, emotional symptoms and NSSI as variables showed that the model-fit index matched the data well, with RMSEA = 0.073, AGFI = 0.945, GFI = 0.980, CFI = 0.985, NFI = 0.982, TLI = 0.968, IFI = 0.985, and negative life events, emotional symptoms (anxiety, depression) and NSSI all had direct effects with standardized path coefficients of 0.16, 0.19, and 0.23, respectively, with negative life events playing an indirect role in NSSI through emotional symptoms and emotional symptoms playing an incomplete mediating role in negative life events and NSSI. Conclusion The prevalence of NSSI was higher among Chinese junior high school students. Both negative life events and emotional symptoms were direct risk factors for NSSI. In addition, negative life events were also indirect risk factors for NSSI, and emotional symptoms played an incomplete mediating role in the relationship between the effects of negative life events and NSSI. This indicates that the combination of reducing the frequency of negative life events while maintaining individual emotional stability during adolescent development can effectively reduce the prevalence of NSSI in adolescents.
Objectives Internet addiction is gaining attention because of the physical, psychological and social damage it can cause to individuals. There has been little systematic exploration of the relationship between Internet addiction and the influence of the family environment among junior high school students in China. Methods A whole-group sample of three county-level junior high schools in China was used to investigate the relationship between adolescents' Internet addictive behaviour and their family environment using the General Situation Questionnaire, Family Environment Scale-Chinese version, and the Internet Addiction Test (IAT). Results The prevalence of Internet addiction among junior high school students in China is 33.7%, among which 76.0% of junior high school students are mildly addicted to the Internet. The prevalence of Internet addiction among female students is 32.4%, and 35.0% among male students. the prevalence of Internet addiction among junior high school first year, junior high school second year and junior high school third year is 27.3%, 35.5% and 38%, respectively. The prevalence of Internet addiction among urban junior high school students is 27.5%, and the prevalence of Internet addiction among rural junior high school students is 34.5%. In terms of family environment, cohesion, expressiveness, independence, achievement, intellectual-cultural, active-recreational, moral-religious, organization, and control are negatively associated with Internet, family conflict is positively associated with Internet addiction (p < 0.01). The results of multiple stepwise regression analysis showed that seniority and prominent family conflict are risk factors for Internet addiction (P < 0.01), while female, good family expressiveness and organization, family intellectual-cultural, active-recreational and family control are prominent as protective factors for Internet addiction (P < 0.05). Conclusion Chinese junior high school students have a high prevalence of Internet addictive behaviours, with the highest proportion of mild Internet addictive behaviours. Males and senior students are more likely to develop Internet addictive behaviours. Family factors have a significant impact on the occurrence of Internet addiction, and interventions in the family environment of adolescents can effectively reduce the prevalence of Internet addictive behaviours.
Background Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is more common in adolescents and its occurrence may be influenced by personality traits. Children and adolescents are a high-risk group for NSSI. Although there are some studies on the prevalence of NSSI, however, there are fewer studies on the factors associated with the severity of NSSI and the specific causes of the influence of NSSI and personality traits. Methods Participants of this study were junior high school students enrolled in three different schools of a Chinese province. NSSI was evaluated using the Adolescents Self-Harm Scale and their personality traits were assessed using the Neuroticism Extraversion Openness Five-factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). Results 2376 junior high school students participated, and the annual incidence of NSSI was 37.1% (n=881). The mean age of the NSSI-detected individuals was 13.61 years (SD=1.017). Out of total number of detections, 56.6% (n=499) were female and 67.4% (n=594) were individuals who self-injured using multiple means. Hair pulling, scratching the skin, and whacking harder objects with the hand were the most common modes of NSSI, with incidences of 51.0%, 43.0%, and 42.8% respectively in the NSSI-detected population. There was a negative association between grade and NSSI severity (p < 0.05), and NSSI was more severe in females. The scores in the Neuroticism dimension were higher in the group with NSSI than in the group without NSSI, while the scores in the extraversion, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness dimensions were lower than in the group without NSSI (p < 0.01). Neuroticism and openness were significantly positively correlated with NSSI severity, and extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness were significantly negatively correlated with NSSI severity (p < 0.01). Conclusion The severity of NSSI was relatively higher in lower grades among junior grades and females, and the number of self-injury using multiple means was significantly higher; hair pulling, skin scratching and whacking harder objects with hands were the most common NSSI modalities. Among the personality traits, for the incidence of NSSI, high neuroticism was a risk factor, and high extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness were protective factors. For the severity of NSSI, high neuroticism and high openness were risk factors, and high extraversion, high agreeableness, and high conscientiousness were protective factors.
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