Prevalence of engagement and frequency of non-suicidal self-injury behaviors in adolescence: an investigation of the longitudinal course and the role of temperamental effortful control

Abstract

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is among the most frequent maladaptive behaviors reported in adolescence, with prevalence rates around 18–22% in community samples worldwide. The onset of NSSI typically occurs between early and middle adolescence, with a peak during middle adolescence (14–15 years) and a subsequent decline during late adolescence. This study investigated the growth curves of NSSI across four years during adolescence, analyzing simultaneously the probability of engagement in NSSI at least once (i.e., prevalence) and the frequency of engagement once initiated (i.e., severity). Furthermore, the study examined the predicting role of effortful control on NSSI over time (time-varying effects), net of other key risk factors for NSSI, such as anxiety-depression and bullying victimization. A sample of 430 Italian adolescents enrolled in Grade 9 at baseline was involved in the study. Based on the Latent Growth Curve Zero-inflated Poisson methodology, the results indicated a negative quadratic trend of both NSSI prevalence, with an increase between T1 and T3 followed by a decrease in the subsequent wave, and NSSI frequency once initiated, with a peak at T2 followed by a decline over time. The results also showed that adolescents who reported low effortful control abilities had a heightened probability of involvement in NSSI at each time point, whereas no significant association was found with NSSI frequency once initiated. Findings from this study offer important insights into the developmental course of NSSI and point out the need for future in-depth investigations of the mechanisms that might underlie NSSI prevalence and severity throughout adolescence.

The Moderating Effect of Anger Expression on the Relationship between Parental Overprotection, Psychological Need Satisfaction, and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury among Chinese Adolescents

“…In this study, the adolescent sample was limited to individuals residing in the southeast region of China. Notably, the incidence of NSSI among this population was found to surpass that of previous literature (Esposito et al;Huang et al, 2022), this heightened occurrence of NSSI may be attributed to the exacerbation of anxiety and depression among adolescents in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic (Zhang et al, 2020). Future research should aim to investigate the generalizability of our findings across diverse temporal and geographical contexts.…”

Gender and Age Influence on Emergency Department Visits for Non-Suicidal Self-Injuries in School Aged Children in Italy: An 11 Years Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study

“…This difference, in fact, could be explained by the different timings of developmental stages between boys and girls in adolescence, as girls tends to reveal effects of stressors earlier in life than coetaneous boys [ 31 ]. In addition, boys are more likely to mask possible signs of self-inflicted injuries (e.g., by attributing them to the consequences of sporting activities) and less likely to seek help than girls of the same age [ 12 ], which, due to the interruption of sporting activities and the greater presence of relatives or carers at home, could partly explain the differences observed during the pandemic.…”

You’re not alone: imagery rescripting for adolescents who self-harm

“…Treatment response (defined as a 30% reduction in NSSI behavior) was evaluated for each patient. Additionally, reliable change as measured by the RCI ( Jacobson and Truax, 1991 ) was assessed for each patient using standard deviations of previous studies including adolescents conducting NSSI ( James et al, 2008 ; Esposito et al, 2023 ) on clinical outcome measures assessing NSSI behavior and depressiveness (BDI-II). A RCI ≥ 1.96 is indicative 3for a significant change.…”