Work

[Effects of stressful events on the onset and remission of non-suicidal self-injury in adolescents: The mediating role of self-criticism].

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: OBJECTIVES: Stressful events are important external risk factors for non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in adolescents. However, existing studies have insufficiently examined how stress influences the dynamic onset and remission of NSSI through individual internal vulnerability factors, as well as whether different sources of stress operate through distinct mechanisms. This study therefore uses a longitudinal follow-up design to systematically examine the pathways through which stressful events influence changes in adolescent NSSI via self-criticism and to further identify the specific effects of different types of stress. METHODS: Using cluster random sampling, 2 094 adolescents were followed longitudinally for 1 year. Two rounds of paper-based questionnaire surveys were conducted from March to April 2024 (T1) and from March to April 2025 (T2). Participants were assessed using the Adolescent Self-rating Life Events Checklist, the self-criticism subscale of the Chinese version of the Self-Compassion Scale, and the Adolescent Self-harm Behavior Scale. According to NSSI status at T1 and T2, participants were classified into 4 groups: the resistant group (no NSSI at T1/no NSSI at T2), the onset group (no NSSI at T1/NSSI at T2), the persistent group (NSSI at T1/NSSI at T2), and the remission group (NSSI at T1/no NSSI at T2). Model 1 and Model 2 were constructed using either the total T1 stress score or the scores of the five stress dimensions as independent variables, the T1 self-criticism score as the mediator, gender and only-child status as control variables, and "onset group vs. resistant group" and "remission group vs. persistent group," respectively, as binary dependent variables. Indirect-effect analyses were then performed. RESULTS: =0.229). A parallel mediation model incorporating multiple dimensions of stress further indicated that interpersonal stress, academic stress, and adjustment problems indirectly predicted a higher likelihood of NSSI onset and a lower likelihood of NSSI remission through self-criticism, whereas the indirect effects of loss-related stress and punishment-related stress were not significant. CONCLUSIONS: Self-criticism showed significant indirect effects in the associations of stress with both NSSI onset and remission. Self-criticism may function both as a risk factor through which stress contributes to the onset of NSSI and as a barrier to NSSI remission. The pathways through which different sources of stress influence NSSI via self-criticism appear to be source-specific. These findings provide an important theoretical basis for more targeted interventions for adolescent NSSI.

Source: PubMed Central

DOI: 10.11817/j.issn.1672-7347.2026.260279

Authors: Can Zeng, Jiyuan Liu, Jiahui Liu, Dongfang Wang

Institutions: Shaoguan University, South China Normal University

Language: Chinese

Topic: Suicide and Self-Harm Studies

Subfield: Clinical Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funder: Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Province