Non‐suicidal self‐injury in adolescence: A longitudinal study of the relationship between NSSI, psychological distress and perceived parenting

Abstract

Objective: The present study investigates whether either adolescents' psychological distress and/or perceived parenting predicted the occurrence of NSSI. Furthermore, the consequences of NSSI are examined in a three-wave longitudinal study. Design: The sample at time 1 (age 12) consisted of 1396 adolescent reports and 1438 parent reports. At time 2 (age 13), 827 adolescent reports and 936 parent reports were obtained. Time 3 (age 14) included 754 adolescent reports and 790 parent reports.Psychological distress of adolescents was measured using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire.Perceived parenting behaviors were examined by the Parental Behavior Scale and the Psychological Control Scale. Results: A total of 10% of the adolescents engaged in NSSI at least once before age 15.Higher psychological distress of adolescents at time 1 was associated with the presence of NSSI at time 2 or 3. The association between psychological distress at time 1 and perception of decreased parental rule setting at time 3 was mediated by the presence of NSSI at time 2. Conclusions: The present study showed that psychological distress at age 12 predicts NSSI over time and that parental awareness of NSSI changes the perception of parenting behaviors. Keywords:Non-suicidal self-injury, adolescence, psychological distress, parenting, longitudinal. According to the dominant theories (e.g., Nock, 2009), NSSI is related to both (1) adolescent (intrapersonal) and (2) caregivers (interpersonal) factors which shape and maintain NSSI. Several intrapersonal correlates (most importantly emotion regulation and psychological distress) are hypothesized to be interwoven with interpersonal correlates (e.g., parenting, attachment, peer influences). With regard to caregivers characteristics, parenting behaviors may play an important role in both onset of NSSI (e.g., modulating physiological arousal/regulation, invalidating emotions, stressful life events such as abuse) and in maintaining NSSI (e.g., controlling behavior of parents). Although both intrapersonal and interpersonal correlates are hypothesized as exerting influences on onset of and maintaining NSSI, until now no longitudinal studies have examined these hypotheses. Furthermore, current dominant theoretical model (e.g., Nock) lack insight into consequences of NSSI over time. This large-scale, three-wave longitudinal study examined (1) the interaction between intrapersonal and interpersonal vulnerability factors for the NSSI, and (2) the consequences of NSSI over time. The present study focuses on the interplay between psychological distress as a potential intrapersonal correlate of NSSI (i.e., levels of internalizing and externalizing Running title: Longitudinal study of NSSI

Developmental Trajectories of Nonsuicidal Self‐Injury in Adolescence and Intrapersonal/Interpersonal Risk Factors

“…Similarly, Baetens et al. () found the 1‐year prevalence of NSSI increased among adolescents from age 13 to 14 ( n = 754). However, Giletta, Burk, Scholte, Engels, and Prinstein () reported a decrease in NSSI during a 2‐year follow‐up period among mid‐adolescents (participants’ mean age = 15.02 years, n = 348).…”

Personality Correlates of Self-Injury in Adolescent Girls: Disentangling the Effects of Lifetime Psychopathology

“…However, we did not observe a robust association between low sociability and aNSSI, suggesting that high levels of interpersonal conflict or low social support are necessary to explain connection between aNSSI and social isolation. Consistent with this idea, several studies have linked risk for aNSSI to aversive parental behavior (a salient source of support for 13-15 year-olds), such as expressed emotion (Wedig & Nock, 2007) and maladaptive parenting styles (Baetens et al, 2014, 2015; Bureau et al, 2010). Third, our results support the hypothesis that aNSSI involves a self-control-based risk pathway (e.g., low conscientiousness; Fikke, Melinder, & Landro, 2011) separate from a negative affect-based risk pathway (e.g., high melancholia; Klonsky, 2007).…”

The mediating effect of depressive symptoms on the relationship between bullying victimization and non-suicidal self-injury among adolescents: Findings from community and inpatient mental health settings in Ontario, Canada

“…However, peer victimization serves as a significant source of stress (Rosen et al, 2012;Storch and Ledley, 2005), and consequently a risk factor for NSSI (Baetens et al, 2014;Gandhi et al, 2015;Hankin and Abela, 2011;Zetterqvist et al, 2014). Bullying victimization might also prevent victimized youth from reaching out for help or prevent them from developing appropriate social and coping skills Hunter and Borg, 2006;Leach and Rickwood, 2009), all of which are known to reduce the risk of engaging in NSSI (Frost et al, 2016;Long et al, 2015).…”