Childhood emotional maltreatment affects depression of adolescents with mood disorders: the mediating role of functions of non-suicidal self-injury

Abstract Background Childhood emotional maltreatment, non-suicidal self-injury and depression are prevalent among adolescents with mood disorders. While existing model indicated that childhood emotional maltreatment, functions of non-suicidal self-injury and depression are interrelated, not much is understood about the interplay of functions of non-suicidal self-injury in the relationship between childhood emotional maltreatment and depression. Thus, the goal of this research was to ascertain how functions of non-suicidal self-injury relate to childhood emotional maltreatment and depression. Methods The participants were adolescents with mood disorders from three hospitals in Sichuan Province, data was collected using self-administered questionnaires, including the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Ottawa Self-injury Inventory-Functions, and Childhood Depression Inventory. SPSS26.0 software and PROCESS v3.3 model 4 were used for analysis. Results In all, 235 adolescents (M age=14.8, SD = 1.62) participated in the research. The functions of non-suicidal self-injury (r = 0.289, P