The relationship between childhood maltreatment and non-suicidal self-injury in adolescents with depressive disorders

Abstract

This study aims to explore the core symptoms of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) in adolescents with depressive disorders and the relationship between childhood maltreatment (CM) and NSSI symptoms by using network analysis. A total of 689 adolescents with depressive disorders participated in the survey. The Chinese version of the Adolescent Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Assessment Questionnaire (ANSAQ) and the Short Form of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ-SF) were employed to measure NSSI and the symptoms of CM, respectively. Using network analysis, the NSSI network and the CM-NSSI network were constructed to identify the most central symptoms and the bridge symptoms within the networks. Within the NSSI network, "Intentional scratches", " Intentionally hitting hard objects with your head ", " Intentionally hitting oneself with fists or harder objects ", and " Intentional pinching " were identified as the primary symptoms of NSSI. "emotional abuse", "sexual abuse", and " Intentionally cut yourself " emerged as three key bridge symptoms linking CM with NSSI. This research is the first to investigate the symptom network of CM-NSSI in a sample of adolescents with depressive disorders, providing a foundation for subsequent NSSI prevention and the development of targeted intervention strategies.

Keywords: Adolescent; Childhood maltreatment; Depressive disorder; NSSI; Network analysis.