The Current Status Of Non-suicidal Self-injurious Among Junior High School Students And Its Relationship With Individuals And Environment

ObjectiveWe explored the situation and demographic characteristics of junior high school students’non-suicidal self-injury in China,analysed the relationship between non-suicidal self-injury and personality traits,family environment,negative life events and emotional symptoms,and constructed a structural equation model of negative life events,emotional symptoms and nonsuicidal self-injury.MethodsThe General Situation Questionnaire,Adolescents Self-Harm Scale,NEO Five-Factor Inventory(NEO-FFI),Family Environment Scale(Chinese Version,FES-CV),Adolescent Self Rating Life Events Check List(ASLEC),Zung Anxiety Scale(SAS),and Zung Depression Scale(SDS),were administered to a whole-group sample of three county junior high schools in Shandong Province.Differences between every groups were compared by t-test;using chisquare test to compared rates;using Pearson analysis to describe the relationship between NSSI and its influencing factors;Using linear stepwise regression to screen the influencing factors of NSSI severity;AMOS 24.0 was used to make structural equation models of negative life events,emotional symptoms and non-suicidal self-injury.The fit of the structural equation models was evaluated using RMSEA,AGFI,IFI,CFI,GFI,TLI,NFI and SRMR.the RMSEA value should be less than 0.08,the AGFI,IFI,CFI,GFI,TLI,NFI values should be greater than 0.9,and the SRMR value should be less than 0.08.Results1.A total of 2376 junior high school students completed this survey,of which 47.8%(n=1136)were male and 52.2%(n=1240)were female,the prevalence of NSSI was 37.1%(n=881).The prevalence of NSSI was 40.2%(499/1240)for female students and 33.6%(382/1136)for male students,and the difference was statistically striking(P<0.01).In addition.the difference in the prevalence of NSSI among different grades was also statistically significant(P<0.01).2.This survey showed that 67.4%(n=594)of the population used non-single means of self-injury.The most common method of NSSI was hair pulling(50.9%),followed by hitting harder objects such as walls with hands(42.8%)and cutting skin with objects such as pocket knives(42.6%).Among the behavioral purposes of NSSI,the most common was to vent bad emotions or feelings(57.5%),followed by relieving feelings of loneliness,numbness or tension(29.4%)and punishing oneself for faults(25.2%).Poor academic performance,reprimand from parents or teachers,and too much pressure from studies or employment were the three most common events that stimulated the occurrence of NSSI.3.A comparison of the scores of the five dimensions of personality traits showed that the group with NSSI scored higher than the group without NSSI on the neuroticism dimension,while the scores on the extraversion,agreeableness,and conscientiousness were significantly lower than those of the group without NSSI(P<0.01).Correlation analysis of personality traits with NSSI severity showed that neuroticism was positively correlated with NSSI severity(P<0.01),while extraversion,conscientiousness and agreeableness were negatively correlated with NSSI severity(P<0.01).Analysis of risk factors with the severity of NSSI as the dependent variable showed that high neuroticism scores,i.e.,sensitive and fragile personality,impulsivity and irritability,were risk factors for the severity of NSSI,while high agreeableness scores,i.e.,tolerant personality and trust in others,were protective factors for the severity of NSSI.4.Comparing the dimensions of family environment in the group with and without NSSI,the group with NSSI scored lower than the group without NSSI in cohesion,independence,expressiveness,active-recreational orientation,achievement orientation,intellectual-cultural orientation,moral-religious orientation,and organization,while the scores of conflict were higher than the group without NSSI(P<0.01).Correlation analysis of family environment and NSSI severity showed that NSSI severity was positively correlated with conflict(P<0.01)and negatively correlated with cohesion,expressiveness,and organization(P<0.01).The results of multiple stepwise regression analysis showed that cohesion was prominent as a protective factor for the severity of NSSI degree.5.Pearson correlation analysis of negative life events,anxiety,depression and NS SI showed a positive correlation between negative life events,emotional symptoms and NSSI(P<0.01),that is,adolescents who experienced more negative events in their lives and were more heavily affected tended to develop anxiety and depression,and the severity of their NSSI was more severe.6.The structural equation model was constructed with negative life events,mood symptoms and NSSI as variables,and the results 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,SRMR=0.033,negative life events,mood symptoms(anxiety,depression)and NSSI all had direct effects,with standard path coefficients of 0.16,0.19,and 0.23,respectively,negative life events had an indirect effect on NSSI through mood symptoms,and mood symptoms played an incomplete mediating effect in negative life events and NSSI.Conclusion1.The prevalence of NSSI was high among junior high school students,and the prevalence of NSSI was higher among females than males.2.Hair pulling was the most common method of NSSI,venting bad emotions and feelings was the most common purpose of NSSI,and poor academic performance was the most common external stimulating event that led to the occurrence of NSSI.3.Among the personality traits,individuals with higher scores of neuroticism and lower scores of extraversion,conscientiousness,and agreeableness were more likely to have NSSI.personality sensitivity and vulnerability,impulsiveness and irritability were risk factors for severe degree of NSSI,while personality tolerance,compassion and trust in others were protective factors for severe degree of NSSI.4.In the family environment,families with high cohesion,moral-religious orientation,expressiveness,independence,intellectual-cultural orientation,achievement orientation,active-recreational orientation,and organization are less likely to have NSSI,while families with prominent conflict have more NSSI.Close family relationships is a protective factor for the severity of NSSI degree.5.Both negative life events and emotional symptoms are direct risk factors for NSSI.In addition,negative life events are also indirect risk factors for NSSI,anxiety and depression play an incomplete mediating role in the relationship between the effects of negative life events and NSSI.