Risky or protective? Online social support’s impact on NSSI amongst Chinese youth experiencing stressful life events

Abstract

Background This study was designed to investigate potential gender differences in the interrelations between different types of stressful life events and non-suicidal self injury (NSSI) among Chinese youth, as well as to test the direct and moderating impacts of online social support on Chinese students’ NSSI engagement under the pressure of different types of stressful life events. Methods Based on the data of 2200 students from middle - highschools and universities in Northwestern China, gender difference (male/female binary) in stressful life events, online social support, NSSI and their correlations were analyzed in the study. Results Among different types of stressful life events, male students were reported to experience a significantly higher impact of punishment and interpersonal relationship than females. Female students only experienced significantly higher learning pressure than males; Gender difference was not indentified in NSSI among youth; Stressful life events related to punishment could significantly predict NSSI engagement among males. Stressful life events related to learning pressures, interpersonal relationships, and adaption were significantly correlated to NSSI engagement among females; Online social support didn’t had a significant direct effect on youth’s NSSI, although it did significantly moderate the relationship between specific types of stressful life events (i.e., loss, interpersonal relationships, adaption among males and all types among females) and their NSSI. Conclusion The present study has provided evidence of specified types of stressful life events being risk factors in affecting youth’s NSSI: For male students, the higher impacts of stressful life events related to punishment they experienced, the more likely they were about to engage in NSSI. For female students, stressful life events related to learning pressure, interpersonal relationships and adaption were all proved as significant predictors and risky factors of female youth’s NSSI; Online social support did not impact on individual’s NSSI engagement directly, but moderated it significantly as a protective factor.

Non-suicidal self-injury: A bibliometrics study and visualization analysis from 2002 to 2022

“…Gender difference: Gender difference in NSSI is not a static gap, but evolves across time, widening in mid-adolescence and disappearing by early adulthood ( 44 ). Moye Xin, et al ( 45 ) investigated potential gender differences in the interrelations between different types of stressful life events and non-suicidal self injury (NSSI) among Chinese youth, clarifying the risk factors in affecting NSSI from male and female perspectives respectively. Fang Cheng, et al ( 46 ) in their study found that in the path analysis model with the introduction of mediating effects, the influence of gender differences on NSSI behavior becomes more pronounced under the interaction of multiple factors: women seem to be more significantly influenced by the external derivatives in the internal derivatives than male subjects, and are more likely to trigger NSSI behavior under the interaction of multiple factors.…”

The impact of perceived life stress and online social support on university students’ mental health during the post-COVID era in Northwestern China: gender-specific analysis

“…Model 3 (M/F) incorporated online social support (OSS) as an independent variable to assess its direct impact on the relationship between perceived life stress (independent variable) and mental health conditions (dependent variable). Following Model 3, interaction terms for different types of perceived life stress (punishment, learning pressure, loss, interpersonal relationships, and adaptation) were successively introduced in Models 4–8 to explore the potential moderating effects of online social support on mental health [ 38 ].…”

Nonsuicidal self-injury among Chinese university students during the post-COVID-19 era: analysis of sex differences and the impact of gender role conflict

“…NSSI (Non-suicidal self-injury) refers to deliberate self-inflicted damage to one’s own body tissue by methods such as cutting, scratching, and self-hitting that leads to tissue damage, without conscious suicidal intent and for reasons not socially sanctioned. NSSI is commonly used among youth as a method of dealing with painful emotions and thoughts ( Xin et al, 2022 ) and can have varying degrees of negative consequences. It is a prevalent health concern among university students, given that they are twice as likely to engage in NSSI than their nonuniversity attending peers are ( Swannell et al, 2014 ).…”