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Does Anger Expression Mediate the Relationship Between Parental Rejection and Direct and Indirect Forms of Non-suicidal Self-injury?
- Source :
-
Journal of Child & Family Studies . Dec2020, Vol. 29 Issue 12, p3575-3585. 11p. 1 Diagram, 1 Chart. - Publication Year :
- 2020
-
Abstract
- Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is defined as the intentional destruction of one's own body without an intent to die (e.g., self-cutting). On the other hand, indirect forms of self-injury refer to behaviors in which people harm themselves in an indirect way (e.g., substance use). Existing literature suggests that a negative parent–child relationship may increase vulnerability to NSSI and indirect forms of self-injury. However, little is known about the potential mediators that intervene in the aforementioned relationship. Therefore, the present work tests a path model to investigate whether the manner of anger expression—anger-in (redirect anger inwardly) or anger-out (express anger outwardly)—mediates the association between parental rejection and direct (specifically self-cutting) and indirect (specifically substance use) forms of self-injury in a cross-sectional sample of Italian adolescents. We assessed self-injury, parental acceptance/rejection, and the expression of anger using self-report questionnaires in 2464 high school students, aged 13–20 years (Mage = 15.93, SD = 1.49). Additionally, characteristics of NSSI were also assessed using semi-structured interviews. We found that parental rejection was significantly positively associated with both self-cutting and substance use. The aforementioned relationship was mediated through anger-in for self-cutting, and through anger-out for substance use. The current work demonstrated that anger expression might work as a bridge between invalidating caregiving environment (i.e., rejecting), in which an individual feels unloved and uncared for, and the occurrence of self-cutting and substance use. The salient role of anger management in the development of prevention and intervention programs for NSSI and indirect self-injury among adolescents is discussed. Highlights: Parental rejection increased the likelihood of engaging in self-cutting and substance use. Express anger inwardly mediates the pathway from parental rejection to self-cutting. Express anger outwardly mediates the pathway from parental rejection to substance use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- *ANGER in adolescence
*PARENTAL rejection
*SELF-injurious behavior in adolescence
*PARENT-teenager relationships
*EXPRESSION in children
*ITALIANS
*SCARIFICATION (Body marking)
*SUBSTANCE abuse
*ANGER
*HIGH school students
*INTERVIEWING
*RESEARCH methodology
*PARENT-child relationships
*QUESTIONNAIRES
*SELF-evaluation
*SELF-injurious behavior
*SELF-mutilation
*CROSS-sectional method
*DESCRIPTIVE statistics
*PSYCHOLOGICAL factors
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 10621024
- Volume :
- 29
- Issue :
- 12
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Journal of Child & Family Studies
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 146997876
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-020-01844-9