Adolescent anxiety and non-suicidal self-injury behavior： the mediating role of depression and the moderating role of social support
10.11886/scjsws20241118007
- VernacularTitle:青少年焦虑与非自杀性自伤行为：抑郁的中介及社会支持的调节作用
- Author:
Juexi LI
1
;
Liyuan LI
2
;
Yuxuan GUO
2
;
Xiaoqiang XIAO
2
;
Peiqi TANG
1
;
Ting PU
1
;
Haixi ZUO
2
;
Ting YANG
1
;
Xiaoxia FAN
2
;
Bo ZHOU
1
Author Information
1. School of Clinical Medicine， Southwest Medical University， Luzhou 646000， China
2. Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital， Sichuan Center of Mental Health， Chengdu 610072， China
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Adolescents;
Non-suicidal self-injury;
Anxiety;
Depression;
Social support
- From:
Sichuan Mental Health
2025;38(4):357-363
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
BackgroundNon-suicidal self-injury （NSSI） behavior among adolescents has become a global public health concern. Anxiety and depression are considered key factors influencing NSSI behavior， while social support may play a protective role in alleviating emotional and behavioral issues. However， existing research has primarily focused on the direct impact of individual factors on NSSI behavior， with insufficient exploration of the combined effects of anxiety， depression and social support. ObjectiveTo investigate the direct effect of anxiety on NSSI， the mediating role of depression and the moderating role of social support in relationship between anxiety and NSSI behavior， thus to provide references for the prevention and intervention of NSSI behavior among adolescents. MethodsIn February 2022， a total of 40 820 students in grades 7 to 12 across 10 middle schools in a district of Chengdu were selected as participants， and they were assessed using Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale-7 item （GAD-7）， Patient's Health Questionnaire Depression Scale-9 item （PHQ-9）， Social Support Scale for Urban Students （SSSUS） and Adolescent Self-Harm Scale （ASHS）. Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to examine the correlations between scale scores among adolescents with NSSI behaviors. Mediation and moderation analyses were performed using Process 3.5 in SPSS， and the significance was tested with bootstrapping. The interaction was visualized by using simple slope analysis. ResultsAmong 34 534 （84.60%） valid respondents， 542 adolescents （1.57%） reported engaging in NSSI behavior. Significant differences in gender， GAD-7 scores， PHQ-9 scores， and SSSUS scores were observed between NSSI behavior group and non-NSSI group （χ²/t=62.889， 71.120， 94.365， -41.464， P<0.01）.Adolesents with NSSI showed positive correlations between GAD-7 scores and both ASHS and PHQ-9 scores （r=0.158， 0.166， P<0.01）. PHQ-9 scores were positively correlated with ASHS scores （r=0.364， P<0.01）， but negatively correlated with SSSUS scores （r=-0.290， P<0.01）. SSSUS scores were negatively correlated with ASHS scores （r=-0.247， P<0.01）. Depression partially mediated the relationship between anxiety and NSSI behavior， with an effect size of 0.544 （95% CI： 0.162~0.944）， accounting for 35.79% of the total effect. Social support moderated the relationship between depression and NSSI bahavior， with an effect value of -0.082 （95% CI： -0.135~-0.029）. ConclusionAnxiety not only directly influences NSSI bahavior among adolescents， also indirectly exacerbates it through depression， while social support mitigates the impact of depression on NSSI behavior. ［Funded by Youth Project of National Natural Science Foundation of China （number， 82401812）； Project of Health Commission of Sichuan Province （number， 24LCYJPT18）］
