Abstract
Loneliness and attitude towards aloneness have been shown to be associated to depression, anxiety, and other psychiatric disorders in adolescents and they may also increase the vulnerability to Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI). Therefore, the present study investigated the association between lifetime prevalence and functions of NSSI, parent- and peer-related loneliness, and attitude towards aloneness (positive and negative). Data regarding NSSI, loneliness, and attitude towards aloneness were collected from a sample of 401 high school students from three different high schools located in the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. Lifetime prevalence of NSSI was found to be 16.5%. Females reported a higher lifetime prevalence of NSSI than males. Higher mean scores for parent-, peer-related loneliness, and positive attitude (i.e., affinity) towards aloneness was observed in adolescents with lifetime NSSI as compared to adolescents without a history of NSSI. Finally, a positive correlation between self-related (i.e., automatic) functions of NSSI and parent- and peer-related loneliness and a positive attitude towards aloneness was also observed.
Highlights
Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) is defined as the deliberate destruction of one’s body tissue without an intention to die (Nock, 2009)
Unlike the previous studies, we found that adolescents with lifetime NSSI reported higher levels of peer-related loneliness when controlling for gender and age
Mean differences in peer-related NSSI between adolescents with and without NSSI were no longer significant when depression was added as a covariate, suggesting that the relation between peerrelated loneliness and NSSI may be mediated by depression (Hayes & Preacher, 2014)
Summary
Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) is defined as the deliberate destruction of one’s body tissue without an intention to die (Nock, 2009). Gandhi et al: Association between Non-Suicidal Self-Injury, Parents and Peers. In Belgium, the prevalence of NSSI has been shown to range from 13.7%–26.5% in adolescents (Baetens, Claes, Muehlenkamp, Grietens, & Onghena, 2011; Claes, Luyckx, & Bijttebier, 2014). NSSI has been shown to be linked with developmental issues like disturbances in identity formation (Gandhi et al, 2017) and scholastic issues (Kiekens et al, 2016). Chronic engagement in NSSI has been shown to be strongly associated with various mental health issues like depression, anxiety disorder, substance use disorder, borderline personality disorder, and eating disorders (Nock, 2009). The history, frequency, and number of different methods of NSSI have been shown to be important predictors of suicide attempts (Victor and Klonsky, 2014)
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