Ding Dongyan, Fang Shuanghu
School of Educational Science, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, China.
J Youth Adolesc. 2025 Jun 4. doi: 10.1007/s10964-025-02200-0.
Adolescence is a critical period for the onset of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). Current detection methods primarily rely on self-reports, which may be subjective and yield inaccurate results. The widely used implicit tool was not designed for NSSI and has certain limitations. Furthermore, few studies in China have employed implicit test to assess NSSI among non-clinical adolescents. Although individual characteristics (e.g., psychological flexibility) and microsystem factors (e.g., school climate) have well-established associations with self-reported NSSI, their influence on implicit NSSI remains unclear. To address these gaps, this study employed a novel implicit measure specifically developed for NSSI to distinguish Chinese adolescents with and without NSSI and to examine its predictive validity for future NSSI behavior. Additionally, the study analyzed the effects of psychological flexibility and school climate on implicit NSSI. In this longitudinal study, 502 adolescents (55.5% female; mean age = 14.25 years, SD = 1.65) completed the implicit NSSI test and self-report measures at baseline. Six months later, 399 adolescents (56.7% female; mean age = 14.25 years, SD = 1.61) from baseline completed follow-up self-report measures. Results indicated that adolescents with NSSI had significantly higher implicit NSSI scores than those without NSSI; however, the implicit NSSI did not significantly predict future NSSI. Regression analyses revealed significant negative effects of psychological flexibility and school climate on implicit NSSI. Network analysis showed that implicit NSSI was most strongly associated with baseline self-reported NSSI, followed by school bullying, while no significant associations were found with the subdimensions of psychological flexibility. Student-student relationships emerged as the strongest node in the network, followed by self-reported NSSI and defusion. These findings suggest that both implicit and self-reported measures should be considered for early detection of NSSI. Implicit NSSI representing a distinct construct from self-reported NSSI, may be effectively reduced by improving school climate and psychological flexibility. By integrating implicit and self-reported NSSI, this study provides new insights for understanding, preventing, and intervening NSSI in school settings.
青春期是非自杀性自伤行为（NSSI）开始出现的关键时期。目前的检测方法主要依赖自我报告，这可能具有主观性且结果不准确。广泛使用的内隐工具并非为NSSI设计，存在一定局限性。此外，中国很少有研究采用内隐测试来评估非临床青少年中的NSSI。尽管个体特征（如心理灵活性）和微观系统因素（如学校氛围）与自我报告的NSSI之间存在明确的关联，但它们对内隐NSSI的影响仍不明确。为填补这些空白，本研究采用了专门为NSSI开发的新型内隐测量方法，以区分有和没有NSSI的中国青少年，并检验其对未来NSSI行为的预测效度。此外，该研究分析了心理灵活性和学校氛围对内隐NSSI的影响。在这项纵向研究中，502名青少年（55.5%为女性；平均年龄=14.25岁，标准差=1.6）在基线时完成了内隐NSSI测试和自我报告测量。六个月后，来自基线的399名青少年（56.7%为女性；平均年龄=14.25岁，标准差=1.61）完成了随访自我报告测量。结果表明，有NSSI的青少年的内隐NSSI得分显著高于没有NSSI的青少年；然而，内隐NSSI并不能显著预测未来的NSSI。回归分析显示心理灵活性和学校氛围对内隐NSSI有显著的负面影响。网络分析表明，内隐NSSI与基线自我报告的NSSI关联最强，其次是校园欺凌，而与心理灵活性的子维度未发现显著关联。学生与学生之间的关系在网络中成为最强的节点，其次是自我报告的NSSI和认知解离。这些发现表明，在NSSI的早期检测中应同时考虑内隐测量和自我报告测量。内隐NSSI代表了一种与自我报告的NSSI不同的结构，改善学校氛围和心理灵活性可能有效降低内隐NSSI。通过整合内隐和自我报告的NSSI，本研究为在学校环境中理解、预防和干预NSSI提供了新的见解。
