Bullying and Victimization, Depressive Mood, and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury in Adolescents: The Moderating Role of Parental Support

Abstract

We investigated the associations of bullying and victimization with non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), as well as the mediating role of depressive mood in a sample of 785 adolescents. Further, we explored the moderating role of parental support in these associations. All participants completed questionnaires on bullying, victimization, NSSI, depressive mood, and parental support. Almost 21 % of adolescents engaged in at least one form of NSSI. Both bullying and victimization of being bullied increased the risk of engaging in NSSI. The relationships of both bullying and victimization with NSSI were partially mediated by depressive mood. Finally, the relationships of both bullying and victimization with NSSI and of depressive mood with NSSI were found to be moderated by parental support, indicating that these relationships were less pronounced in adolescents who experienced high parental support. Hence, we underscore the need to include both emotion-regulation training and family-based interventions into bully intervention programs to prevent NSSI.

Risk Factors for Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Among Trans Youth

“…This is a pattern previously found among the general population of natal males [25]. Social support has been considered vital for a positive outcome among trans people, however this study did not find that levels of social support predicted NSSI engagement or psychopathology, which differ from findings with older trans groups [17].…”

“…Higher scores indicate greater psychopathology. The SCL has good construct validity and reliability [30] and is applied widely in trans research [5,8,17,18,25]. The Cronbach's alpha for the current sample were .89, .93 and .97 for the Anxiety and Depression subscales and GSI respectively.…”

“…The study aimed to compare these variables between young trans individuals who do and do not engage in NSSI, taking into account natal gender (male/female), and the interaction between the presence or absence of both life-time and current NSSI and natal gender. Based on the literature regarding NSSI and trans, it was hypothesized that NSSI will be more prevalent in natal females and in those with higher levels of psychopathology, victimization (transphobia experience), interpersonal problems, low self-esteem and less perceived support from others [5,8,17,18,19,20]. Related to this, this study also sought to identify what factors can predict lifetime and current NSSI and what factors predict general psychopathology (a known factor to predict NSSI).…”

“…For example, identifying risk factors for NSSI may help the development of preventive interventions for this specific population. Risk factors for NSSI, which have been identified within the general, psychiatric and adult trans populations, include childhood traumatic experiences, psychological symptoms (particularly anxiety and depression), identity problems, levels of transphobia, interpersonal dysfunction and natal gender [5,17,18,19,20,21]. Whilst in the general population, women are reportedly three to four times more likely to self-injure than men [22], in the trans literature, NSSI appears to be more common in trans men than trans women [23], suggesting that gender patterns of NSSI may align with individuals' birth sex rather than their experienced gender.…”

The mediating effect of depressive symptoms on the relationship between bullying victimization and non-suicidal self-injury among adolescents: Findings from community and inpatient mental health settings in Ontario, Canada

“…However, few studies have examined the relationship between bullying victimization and NSSI among adolescents (e.g., Bakken and Gunter, 2012;Claes et al, 2015;Heilbron and Prinstein, 2010). Therefore, our study sought to add to the extant literature by investigating the effect of bullying victimization on NSSI among adolescents referred to community and inpatient mental health settings in Ontario, Canada.…”