The effect of cyberbullying on nonsuicidal self-injury in adolescents: The chain mediating role of shame and dissociation

Abstract

Adolescents are prone to nonsuicidal self-injury, a unique risk factor for suicide and suicide attempts. Prior research has shown that cyberbullying predicts adolescent nonsuicidal self-injury behavior. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a chain mediation model to investigate the impact of shame and dissociation related to cyberbullying on teenage nonsuicidal self-injury. Between 23/04/2022 and 26/04/2022, researchers recruited 14,666 high school students in Zizhong County, Sichuan Province, China, to investigate cyberbullying, non-suicidal self-injurious behaviors, shame, and feelings of dissociation through self-report questionnaires. Among the participating high school students, 56.0% reported experiencing cyberbullying and 25.4% reported nonsuicidal self-injurious behaviors. After adjusting for the effects of gender, traditional bullying, grade level, left-behind child status, and parental marital status, there was a positive correlation between cyberbullying and adolescent nonsuicidal self-injurious behavior. Shame and dissociation played a mediating role between cyberbullying and adolescent nonsuicidal self-injury. First, a partial mediating effect of shame and dissociation was observed, with the mediating effect accounting for 6.1% and 21.2% of the total effect (33.0%), respectively; thereafter, a chain mediating effect of shame and dissociation was noted, with the mediating effect accounting for 9.1% of the total effect. In the parallel mediation test, the mediating effect of dissociative experience (0.10) was higher than that of shame (0.02). Cyberbullying and non-suicidal self-injury are prevalent among high school students in western China, and the synergistic effects of shame and dissociation may be associated with increased risk of adolescent non-suicidal self-injury.