Parent-Adolescent Conflict, Depressive Symptoms, and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury among Chinese Adolescents: The Moderating Effect of the COMT Gene rs4680 Polymorphism

Abstract

Existing research suggests that parent-adolescent conflict is associated with increased risk for adolescent non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). However, adolescent NSSI reactions to parent-adolescent conflicts exhibit large individual differences. This study sought to explore whether depressive symptoms mediates the relationship between parent-adolescent conflict and adolescent NSSI, and whether this mediating process is moderated by the COMT gene rs4680 polymorphism. A total of 673 adolescents (364 males, 309 females) in the age range of 12 to 15 years (Meanage = 12.81 years, SD = 0.48) completed questionnaires regarding parent-adolescent conflict, depressive symptoms, and NSSI. Genomic DNA was extracted from saliva and buccal cells from each participant. Bootstrapping techniques displayed statistically significant moderated mediation. The results showed that the positive association between parent-adolescent conflict and adolescent NSSI was in fact mediated by depressive symptoms. Moreover, this indirect link was moderated by the COMT gene rs4680 polymorphism. Specifically, the risk effect of parent-adolescent conflict on adolescent NSSI via depressive symptoms was stronger for adolescents with Val/Val genotype than for those with Met/Met or Val/Met genotype. These findings underscore the importance of examining the interaction between genes and the environment to understand how and when parent-adolescent conflict impacts adolescent NSSI.

Mechanisms and intervention strategies of emotional dysregulation in individuals with nonsuicidal self-injury

“…A longitudinal study from the same research group confirmed the results of this cross-sectional study 71 . These findings explain why the reactions to parent-adolescent conflicts in adolescent NSSI exhibit large individual differences 70 . Also, these findings highlight the interaction between genes and the environment to understand emotional disturbances in NSSI 70 .…”

“…Existing research suggested that parent-adolescent conflict was related to the increased risk for adolescent NSSI. Moreover, this association was mediated by depressive symptoms, and this indirect path was moderated by the COMT gene rs4680 polymorphism 70 . The moderating effect was stronger for adolescents with the Val/Val genotype than those with the Met/Met or Val/Met genotype.…”

The effects of family environment cognition and its difference perceived by adolescents and their parents on the treatment effect of non-suicidal self-injury behaviors in adolescents: a 1-year prospective cohort study

“…Parental positive cognition of family expressiveness and family active–recreational orientation helps adolescents reduce the occurrence of NSSI behaviors, which may be due to parental emotional expression and communication activities for their children, affecting their future behavioral cognition, emotional expression, and emotion regulation ( 19 , 46 ). In addition, adolescents are in a critical period of independent needs and independent consciousness development, and parents will try to control their children through strong control of the changes in parent–child relationship during this period, reduce family entertainment activities, and try to increase their connection with children.…”

Cumulative ecological risk and nonsuicidal self‐injury in adolescents: The mediation of depression and the moderation of impulsiveness

“…For instance, Thippaiah et al (2021) showed that NSSI was an emotional reflection of various stressful situations that individuals face. At the same time, existing studies have consistently shown that depression has a mediating effect between different ecological risk factors and adolescent NSSI (Deng et al, 2022;Li et al, 2022;Liu et al, 2021Liu et al, , 2022Wei et al, 2021;Zhu et al, 2020).…”

“…For instance, Thippaiah et al (2021) showed that NSSI was an emotional reflection of various stressful situations that individuals face. At the same time, existing studies have consistently shown that depression has a mediating effect between different ecological risk factors and adolescent NSSI (Deng et al, 2022; Li et al, 2022; Liu et al, 2021, 2022; Wei et al, 2021; Zhu et al, 2020). It can be inferred that depression can not only affect adolescent NSSI but also play a mediating role on the effect between cumulative ecological risk and adolescent NSSI.…”