Direct Self-injurious Behavior in Adolescents:Prevalence and Its Association with Life Events

Objective:To examine epidemiology of direct self-injurious behavior(D-SIB) and explore the association between D-SIB and life events in adolescents.Methods:Using stratified random cluster sampling,12449 students in grade7 th to 12 th from 10 cities were selected in a multi-centered study(Response rate was 95.34%).Self-injury subscale in Health-Risk Behavior Inventory for Chinese Adolescents(HBICA) and Adolescent Self Rating Life Events Check List(ASLEC) were self-administered by students to assess their D-SIB and life events respectively in the past 12 months.Binary and multinomial logistic regressions were used to analyze the correlates of D-SIB.Results:About 20% of the participants endorsed cutting or scalding themselves,and 23% of the participants endorsed biting,scratching or hitting themselves in the past year;less than 19% students reported at least one group D-SIB and more than one in ten reported two groups DSIB,three in ten adolescents reported D-SIB in past 12 months.The total and subscales scores of the ASLEC in adolescents who admitted D-SIB were significantly higher than those who denied D-SIB.Multiple logistic regression analyses suggested that except for the loss factor,the four factors entered the regression model after controlling for the demographic variables.Conclusion:D-SIB is prevalent in middle school students,which may be influenced by Life events.