A Review of the Influencing Factors and Development Mechanisms of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury in Adolescents

Abstract

This paper reviews the influencing factors and pathogenesis of adolescent non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). NSSI is a major public health problem, and its incidence is increasing year by year, especially among adolescents, with the detection rate of NSSI reaching 28.7%. This paper first introduces the epidemiological characteristics of NSSI and points out that there are significant differences in the incidence of NSSI in different countries and regions. Then, this paper analyzes in detail a variety of influencing factors, mainly including environmental factors (childhood trauma, school bullying, social environment, family dysfunction, etc.), individual factors (mental illness, neurobiological differences, personality traits, inadequate Emotion regulation, etc.) and the interaction between individuals and the environment. This paper also discusses the process of NSSI behavior occurrence, maintenance and termination, and introduces several theoretical models such as empirical avoidance model, four-function model and emotional cascade model. Although some progress has been made in existing studies, the occurrence and development mechanism of NSSI behavior is still unclear in existing studies, and longitudinal studies on long-term changes of NSSI behavior are lacking, and research samples are mostly concentrated in specific groups. Future studies should strengthen the longitudinal tracking of NSSI behavior, expand the diversity of research samples, and deeply explore the mechanism and complexity of NSSI, in order to better understand and intervene this important public health problem.