Direct and moderating effects of atrribution and perceptions on non-suicidal self-harm in sexually abused adolesecents

초록

Introduction Sexually abused adolescents are more likely to exhibit non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), and their PTSD symptoms have been suggested to be significantly contribute to NSSI (Shenk et al., 2010; Zeinab et al., 2022). It is a core assumption of the cognitive approach that cognitive appraisal of events and perception of self and world influence an individual's emotions and behaviors. It is widely known that attributions and perceptions of sexually abused adolescents can aggravate PTSD symptoms (Daigneault et al., 2006; Larsen & Fitzgerald, 2011), but there has been no study to examine the effect on self-harm behaviors or whether they moderate the effects of PTSD symptoms on NSSI. This study aimed to investigate whether maladaptive attributions and perceptions of sexually abused adolescents directly increase the risk of NSSI and have a moderating effect that further strengthens the associations between PTSD symptoms and NSSI. Methods 123 adolescents between the ages of 10-18(108 girls and 14 boys) who were exposed to sexual abuse completed the Child Report of Posttraumatic Symptoms (CROPS; Greenwald & Rubin, 1999), Children's Attribution and Perception Scale (CAPS; Mannarino, Cohen, & Berman, 1994) and Self-Harm Inventory (SHI; Sansone, Wiederman & Sanson, 1998). Results As a result of moderation analysis using PROCESS SPSS macro (Hayes, 2013), there were significant main effects of PTSD symptoms and negative attributions and perceptions on NSSI, B = 0.53, SE = 0.09, t (118) = 5.49, p = .000; B = 0.22, SE = 0.09, t (118) = 2.21, p = .029. The interaction between the two variables was also significant in predicting NSSI, B = 0.27, SE = 0.06, t (118) = 4.05, p = .000. Conclusion The finding of this study indicated that negative and dysfunctional attributions and perceptions of sexually abused adolescents not only directly predict the increased risk of NSSI, but also intensify the effects of PTSD symptoms on the NSSI. Therefore, in order to prev