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Abstract
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Aims: This study aimed to examine the relationship between parental emotional availability, parental attachment, borderline personality traits and suicide risk among adolescents engaging in NSSI.
Methods: This cross-sectional study included adolescents aged 12–18 years. The study sample consisted of 41 adolescents with NSSI, 40 psychiatric patients without NSSI and 40 healthy controls. All adolescents were assessed using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children–Present and Lifetime Version–DSM–5 (K-SADS-PL-DSM-5-T). They also completed the Parental Emotional Availability Scale (LEAP), the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment–Short Form (IPPA-SF), the Suicide Probability Scale (SPS), the Borderline Personality Features Scale for Children-Short Form (BPFSC-SF). Additionally, adolescents in the NSSI group completed the Inventory of Statements About Self- injury (ISAS).
Results and Conclusions: Adolescents with NSSI were found to have lower levels of emotional availability from both their mothers and fathers, as well as higher levels of insecure attachment, compared to healthy controls. However, no significant difference in parental emotional availability was observed between the NSSI group and the psychiatric control group. Adolescents in the NSSI group exhibited higher levels of borderline personality traits and suicide risk compared to both control groups. In the NSSI group, greater parental emotional availability and secure attachment were associated with reduced suicide risk. Furthermore, parental emotional availability partially mediated the relationship between the presence of NSSI and suicide risk. Strengthening emotional bonds between adolescents and parents may reduce suicide risk and improve psychological well-being in adolescents engaging in NSSI.
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