Open Access
ARTICLE
The Relationship between Parent-Child Conflict and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury: A Moderated Mediating Model
School of Teacher Education, Shangqiu Normal University, Shangqiu, 476000, China
* Corresponding Author: Min Li. Email:
International Journal of Mental Health Promotion 2025, 27(1), 89-95. https://doi.org/10.32604/ijmhp.2024.057223
Received 11 August 2024; Accepted 09 December 2024; Issue published 31 January 2025
Abstract
Objectives: To explore the approaches for reducing non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) behaviors in Chinese adolescents, the present study investigated the association between parent-child conflict and NSSI in adolescents, while also examining the mediating role of depression and the moderating role of rumination thinking. Methods: A cluster sampling method was employed to select 1227 Chinese adolescents aged 12 to 18 as participants, who completed measures including the Parent-Child conflict, Depression, Rumination Thinking, and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury questionnaires. The present study used SPSS 26.0 to conduct the Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and reliability tests, and PROCESS 3.3 to test the hypothesis model. Results: (1) There is a positive correlation between parent-child conflict and NSSI in adolescents; (2) Depression mediates the relationship between parent-child conflict and NSSI in adolescents; (3) Rumination thinking acts as a moderator in the association between parent-child conflict and depression. This study finds the indirect effect of depression on NSSI behaviors among Chinese adolescents. Furthermore, the study also finds protective factors by examining the role of reducing individual rumination thinking in mitigating negative emotions following adverse experiences. In conclusion, this research provides a pathway and foundation for enhancing interventions targeting NSSI behaviors among Chinese adolescents. Conclusion: The relationship between parent-child conflict and NSSI in adolescents is positively correlated. Depression acts as a mediator in the association between parent-child conflict and NSSI in adolescents. The effect of parent-child conflict on NSSI is positively moderated by rumination thinking. Specifically, low-level rumination thinking may mitigate the negative impact of parent-child conflict on depression.Keywords
Cite This Article

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.