Longitudinal study on bullying victimization and non-suicidal self-injury among Chinese adolescents: a moderated mediation model.

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is most prevalent during adolescence. It is therefore crucial to further explore factors influencing NSSI. Previous studies had examined the role of bullying victimization or interpersonal relationships in NSSI and had also emphasized the impact of using emotion regulation strategies on NSSI. However, there is a need to further investigate the longitudinal mechanisms between bullying victimization, interpersonal relationships, and NSSI while considering the impact of using different emotion regulation strategies on the mechanisms. This study explored whether interpersonal relationships play a longitudinal mediating role between bullying victimization and NSSI among Chinese adolescents, and compared the moderating effects of different emotion regulation strategies (cognitive reappraisal versus expressive suppression). The objective of this study was to concurrently investigate the long-term factors influencing NSSI in Chinese adolescents from both environmental and emotion regulation perspectives. The participants were 341 Chinese adolescents who engaged in a two-stage survey with a six-month gap. The results indicated that bullying victimization had an indirect effect on adolescent NSSI through the longitudinal mediation of interpersonal relationships. Cognitive reappraisal had a long-term moderating effect on this indirect effect, while expressive suppression did not have a moderating effect. These findings suggest a developmental perspective and comprehensive consideration of the causes of adolescents' NSSI, along with the use of appropriate emotion regulation strategies for intervention. This study holds implications for the psychological well-being and development of adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]