Brief report: the association between non-suicidal self-injury, self-concept and acquaintance with self-injurious peers in a sample of adolescents

J Adolesc. 2010 Oct;33(5):775-8. doi: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2009.10.012. Epub 2009 Nov 11.

Abstract

The current study investigated the association between non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), self-concept and acquaintance with NSSI peers in a sample of 150 high school students (60% female) with a mean age of 15.56 (SD=2.00) years. Analyses showed that students with NSSI rated themselves lower on academic intelligence, physical attractiveness, social skills and emotional stability than their non-NSSI peers. The self-injurers also had more friends who engaged in NSSI, and having more NSSI acquaintances was negatively related to self-esteem. It could be that adolescents with lower self-esteem are more attracted to self-injuring peers, or that adolescents with low self-esteem are more vulnerable to copy NSSI to deal with their problems or to gain a certain identity in their peer group. Future studies must test these possible NSSI pathways.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Belgium
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Female
  • Friends / psychology
  • Health Surveys
  • Humans
  • Imitative Behavior
  • Male
  • Peer Group*
  • Personality Inventory / statistics & numerical data
  • Psychometrics
  • Self Concept*
  • Self-Injurious Behavior / epidemiology
  • Self-Injurious Behavior / psychology*
  • Social Conformity*
  • Social Identification*