Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Dec 4:15:1489707.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1489707. eCollection 2024.

The relationship between sedentary behavior and non-suicidal self-injury behavior among adolescents in China

Yaru Guo  1 , Xiaojian Yin  1   2 , Jianyi Xu  3 , Fule Chen  4 , Feng Zhang  1 , Yuan Liu  5 , Pengwei Sun  1 , Jun Hong  1 , Yanyan Hu  1
Affiliations

The relationship between sedentary behavior and non-suicidal self-injury behavior among adolescents in China

Yaru Guo et al. Front Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Background: The objective of this study was to explore the relationship between sedentary behavior and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), and to provide a theoretical basis for preventing and reducing the occurrence of NSSI behavior and the development of intervention measures.

Methods: Between September and December 2021, a sedentary behavior and NSSI survey was administered to 10327 Chinese adolescents aged 12-17 who had been randomly selected using the stratified cluster random sampling method. The results were analyzed using the chi-square test and logistic regression analysis to explore the relationship between sedentary behavior and NSSI in this population.

Results: The study found an overall NSSI detection rate among the participants of 25.1%, with occasional NSSI and frequent NSSI detection rates of 11.0% and 14.1%, respectively. The NSSI detection rate is higher in girls than in boys. After controlling for related influencing factors, the NSSI detection rates among adolescents with sedentary behavior duration ≥8 hours and screen time ≥2 hours were 1.393(β= 0.332, P <0.01) and 1.569(β= 0.451, P <0.01) times higher than those with sedentary behavior duration <8 hours and screen time <2 hours, respectively.

Conclusion: Sedentary behavior, especially that related to screen time is closely related to the occurrence of NSSI in adolescents. To reduce the occurrence of NSSI, we should therefore pay attention to the harmful effects of sedentary behavior on the physical and mental health of teenagers, take corresponding measures to limit sedentary behavior and screen time, and guide teenagers to use electronic devices correctly.

Keywords: adolescents; mental health; non-suicidal self-injury; screen time; sedentary behavior.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart of participant involvement.
Figure 2
Figure 2
12-17 years old adolescents' detection rates in different duration groups of sedentary behaviors.
Figure 3
Figure 3
12-17 years old adolescents' detection rates in different duration groups of screen time.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The detection of NSSI in adolescents with different sedentary behavior duration groups.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The detection of NSSI in adolescents with different screen time groups.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Ali A, Azam M, Mattiullah J. Physical exercise as medicine for self-injurious behavior. Psychiatr Ann. (2020) 50:167–77. doi: 10.3928/00485713-20200302-02 - DOI
    1. Swannell SV, Martin GE, Page A, Hasking P, St JN. Prevalence of nonsuicidal self-injury in nonclinical samples: systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression. Suicide Life Threat Behav. (2014) 44:273–303. doi: 10.1111/sltb.12070 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Cheung Y, Wong P, Lee AM, Lam TH, Fan Y, Yip P. Non-suicidal self-injury and suicidal behavior: prevalence, co-occurrence, and correlates of suicide among adolescents in Hong Kong. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. (2013) 48:1133–44. doi: 10.1007/s00127-012-0640-4 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hawton K, Saunders KE, O'Connor RC. Self-harm and suicide in adolescents. Lancet. (2012) 379:2373–82. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60322-5 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Wilson E, Crudgington H, Morgan C, Hirsch C, Prina M, Gayer-Anderson C. The longitudinal course of childhood bullying victimization and associations with self-injurious thoughts and behaviors in children and young people: a systematic review of the literature. J Adolesc. (2023) 95:5–33. doi: 10.1002/jad.12097 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources