A longitudinal investigation of university adjustment among students with and without a history of non-suicidal self-injury.

The present study explored differences in four domains of university adjustment (i.e. personal-emotional, social, academic, and institutional attachment) among students with and without a history of engaging in non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and examined the independent influence of NSSI on university adjustment. Participants were 231 students from a large Canadian university who completed an online survey during their first and second year of university examining their perceived stress, perceived social support, coping self-efficacy, and university adjustment. Relative to students who never engaged in NSSI, those who did reported lower levels of university adjustment across domains. However, NSSI was not a significant predictor of university adjustment after accounting for perceived stress, perceived social support, and coping self-efficacy. This study provides preliminary evidence that engaging in NSSI may not confer additional risk for university adjustment, as students' psychological resources appear to be stronger determinants of adjustment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]