The effects of parental psychological control on non-suicidal self-injury in Chinese adolescents: The mediating effect of negative emotions

Abstract

Abstract Objective: To explore the relationship between parental psychological control and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and examine whether negative emotions (i.e., anxiety, depression, and stress) mediated this relationship among a Chinese adolescent sample in rural areas. Methods: A number of 381 Chinese adolescents from a junior high school participated in this study. They aged from 12 to 17 years (M=13.86, SD=1.08). Participants completed questionnaires assessing NSSI, negative emotions and parental psychological control. Results: We found that negative emotions and parental psychological control were significantly associated with NSSI. What's more, our results showed that negative emotions fully mediated the relationship between parental psychological control and NSSI after controlling for gender and grade. Conclusion: Parental psychological control as one of the invalidating parenting styles may heighten one's negative emotions, which may then lead to the engagement in NSSI. Implications for the treatment of adolescents with NSSI and suggestions for their parents in the context of the Chinese culture context for rural areas were proposed in the study.