Abstract
We examined the relation between child maltreatment and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). Participants were 86 adolescents who completed measures of child maltreatment, self-criticism, perceived criticism, depression, and NSSI. Analyses revealed significant, small-to-medium associations between specific forms of child maltreatment (physical neglect, emotional abuse, and sexual abuse) and the presence of a recent history of NSSI. Emotional and sexual abuse had the strongest relations with NSSI, and the data supported a theoretical model in which self-criticism mediates the relation between emotional abuse and engagement in NSSI. Specificity for the mediating role of self-criticism was demonstrated by ruling out alternative mediation models. Taken together, these results indicate that several different forms of childhood maltreatment are associated with NSSI and illuminate one mechanism through which maltreatment may be associated with NSSI. Future research is needed to test the temporal relation between maltreatment and NSSI and should aim to identify additional pathways to engagement in NSSI.
Highlights
Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), which refers to direct and deliberate harm of bodily tissue in the absence of suicidal intent, is a major public health problem in the US and around the world
Sexual abuse, and physical neglect were significantly correlated with presence of NSSI within the previous year, we examined potential mediators of these relations
Our results indicate that both sexual abuse and physical neglect are associated with NSSI, which is consistent with some prior research on this relation (Joiner et al, 2007; Lipschitz et al, 1999; Simpson & Porter, 1992)
Summary
Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), which refers to direct and deliberate harm of bodily tissue in the absence of suicidal intent, is a major public health problem in the US and around the world. Recent research has begun to systematically describe the form and function of NSSI (Brown, Comtois, & Linehan, 2002; Nock & Prinstein, 2004, 2005); the potential pathways to this behavior are not well understood. One consistently reported relation is that between a history of child maltreatment, defined here as. Sexual abuse has shown a strong association with different forms of self-injury, including NSSI (Bergen, Martin, Richardson, Allison, & Roeger, 2003; Nock & Kessler, 2006; Peters & Range, 1995; Yates, 2004), while physical abuse has been associated with such outcomes in some studies (e.g., Joiner et al, 2007) but not others (e.g., Nock & Kessler, 2006)
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