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. 2022 Dec;51(12):2383-2395.
doi: 10.1007/s10964-022-01669-3. Epub 2022 Aug 20.

Non-Suicidal Self-Injury in Adolescence: The Role of Pre-Existing Vulnerabilities and COVID-19-Related Stress

Lisa De Luca  1 , Matteo Giletta  2 , Annalaura Nocentini  3 , Ersilia Menesini  3
Affiliations

Non-Suicidal Self-Injury in Adolescence: The Role of Pre-Existing Vulnerabilities and COVID-19-Related Stress

Lisa De Luca et al. J Youth Adolesc. 2022 Dec.

Abstract

For many adolescents, the COVID-19 pandemic represents a uniquely challenging period, and concerns have been raised about whether COVID-19-related stress may increase the risk for self-injurious behaviors among adolescents. This study examined the impact of pre-existing vulnerabilities on the occurrence and frequency of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) through COVID-19-related stress, and whether the impact of COVID-19-related stress on NSSI was buffered by the perceived social support during the pandemic. Participants were 1061 adolescents (52.40% females; Mage = 15.49 years, SD = 0.76) from a two-wave longitudinal study, which included assessments before the COVID-19 onset and one year later the declaration of the pandemic. Path analyses showed that adolescents with a prior history of NSSI, higher levels of internalizing symptoms, and poor regulatory emotional self-efficacy before the COVID-19 pandemic reported higher levels of COVID-19-related stress which in turn increased their risk to engage in NSSI. Besides, the findings did not support the role of social support as a moderator of the association between COVID-19 related stress and the occurrence/frequency of NSSI. These findings suggest that enhanced stress perception may serve as a key pathway for the continuation and development of NSSI among vulnerable adolescents facing adverse life events.

Keywords: Adolescence; COVID-19-related stress; Longitudinal study; Non-suicidal self-injury; Pre-existing vulnerabilities.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The proposed moderated mediation model
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Mediation model predicting NSSI at T2 from pre-existing vulnerabilities via COVID-19-related stress
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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