Distinct profiles of childhood maltreatment and recent stress in relation to non-suicidal self-injury: the roles of self-criticism and self-compassion

Vollständiger Abstract

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Background Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) has increasingly become a common health concern among young adults. To effectively address and prevent NSSI, it is crucial to understand the impact of both early childhood maltreatment and recent stress, which are well-established risk factors. Previous studies have primarily focused on these factors individually or overall, while neglecting the potential heterogeneity of childhood maltreatment and recent stress when these factors co-occur. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the potential latent types of childhood maltreatment and recent stress and their associations with NSSI among young adults. Methods A sample of 5,224 young adults were recruited via cluster sampling. Participants completed a battery of self-report questionnaires assessing childhood maltreatment, recent life stress, and NSSI behaviors in a cross-sectional design. Latent profile analysis was conducted to characterize distinct subgroups of childhood maltreatment and recent stress exposure. Subsequently, multiple logistic regression and mediation analyses were utilized to evaluate the differential associations between identified classes and NSSI and to assess indirect associations involving inadequate-self, hated-self, and self-compassion. Results Participants’ childhood maltreatment and recent stress were classified into four latent profiles: the “childhood maltreatment predominant group” ( n = 116), the “stress predominant group” ( n = 777), the “medium childhood maltreatment and stress group” ( n = 1,611), and the “low risk group” ( n = 2,720). Compared to the low risk reference group, the remaining three subgroups showed significantly higher odds of NSSI, with the childhood maltreatment predominant group demonstrating the strongest association (odds ratio = 6.253). Furthermore, self-criticism and self-compassion showed distinct indirect associations between latent profile membership and NSSI. Conclusions Young adults demonstrated significant heterogeneity in the joint patterns of childhood maltreatment and recent stress, with certain subgroups being associated with a substantially higher probability of NSSI. Early identification of these at-risk profiles may help mental health professionals and educators to implement tailored assessment and prevention efforts addressing self-related processes, including self-criticism and self-compassion, thereby informing the prevention of NSSI.