The Relationship Between Childhood Emotional Abuse and Nonsuicidal Self-Injury Among Chinese College Students: The Mediating Role of Depression and the Moderating Effect of Reciprocal Filial Piety

Purpose: Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a serious issue among college students, which might affect the development of their mental health. Based on Nock's integrated model of NSSI and the biosocial development model, the present study constructed a moderated mediation model to explore the psychological mechanism between childhood emotional abuse and NSSI.

Patients and methods: Self-reporting data on emotional abuse, depression, NSSI, and filial piety were collected from 3720 (57.5% female) college students in China using a two-wave design survey. Structural equation modeling was used to test the effect of mediation and moderation.

Results: Emotional abuse, depression, and NSSI were significantly and positively correlated with each other. RFP was negatively correlated with emotional abuse, depression, and NSSI, whereas AFP demonstrated a positive correlation with depression, and NSSI. A significant positive indirect relation of emotional abuse to NSSI through depression was found (β = 0.06, SE = 0.01, 95% CI = [0.05, 0.08]). Moreover, the mediating effect was moderated by reciprocal filial piety (RFP) but not authoritarian filial piety (AFP). Specifically, a higher level of RFP buffered the relationship between emotional abuse and depression (β = 0.43, p < 0.001) and the relationship between depression and NSSI (β = 0.07, p = 0.007).

Conclusion: This study reveals the mechanism of the relationship between childhood emotional abuse and NSSI in Chinese college students, and emphasizes the role of depression and RFP. What's more, AFP did not exert a significant effect. It also suggests that interventions focusing on depression and cultivation of RFP may reduce the effect of childhood emotional abuse on NSSI.