Factors Contributing to Non-suicidal Self Injury in Korean Adolescents

MiYoung Kim; Jungok Yu

doi:10.12799/jkachn.2017.28.3.271

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Kim and Yu: Factors Contributing to Non-suicidal Self Injury in Korean Adolescents

Original Article

J Korean Acad Community Health Nurs 2017;28(3):271-279.

Published online: 12 September 2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.12799/jkachn.2017.28.3.271

Factors Contributing to Non-suicidal Self Injury in Korean Adolescents

MiYoung Kim¹, Jungok Yu²

¹Department of Nursing, Kaya University, Gimhae, Korea

²Department of Nursing, Dong-A University, Busan, Korea

Corresponding author: Yu, Jungok Department of Nursing, Dong-A University, 32 Daesingongwon-ro, Seo-gu, Busan 49201, Korea. Tel: +82-51-240-2783, Fax: +82-51-240-2920, E-mail: joyu@dau.ac.kr

Received 26 March 2017 Revised 26 July 2017 Accepted 27 July 2017

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Purpose

Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI), a highly prevalent behavior in adolescents, refers to the direct destruction of one’s body tissue without suicidal intent. To date, the prevalence of adolescent self-injury in South Korea and its associated factors remain unknown. This study aims to determine the prevalence of self-injury in Korean adolescents as well as its associated factors.

Methods

We assessed 717 middle school students by means of an anonymous self-report survey. Information about demographic characteristics, lifestyle, anxiety and depression, self-esteem, and parenting behavior was obtained. Data were analyzed using x² test, t-test and multiple logistic regression.

Results

NSSI was reported by 8.8% of respondents. Univariate analyses showed associations of exposure to alcohol use, anxiety, depression, self-esteem, and parenting methods with self-injury. In multiple analyses, alcohol use, anxiety, and parental abuse were associated with lifetime self-injury.

Conclusion

The rate of NSSI in the South Korea was found to be lower than those of other countries. As our study suggests that alcohol use, anxiety, and parental abuse are associated with lifetime self-injury, health care providers at school should take these factors into account when developing prevention and intervention programs for adolescents.

Keywords: Adolescent, Self-Injurious behavior, Drinking, Anxiety

References

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Table 1.

Comparative General Characteristics according to the Presence of NSSI (N=717)

Variables	Categories	Without NSSI	NSSI	x²	p
Variables	Categories	n (%)	n (%)	x²	p
Total		654 (91.2)	63 (8.8)
Gender	Male	346 (92.0)	30 (8.0)	0.64	.431
Gender	Female	308 (90.3)	33 (9.7)
Middle school grade	1	254 (89.4)	30 (10.6)	3.15	.207
	2	223 (91.0)	22 (9.0)
	3	177 (99.4)	1 (0.6)
Living-father family	No	36 (85.7)	6 (14.3)	1.68	.253
Living-father family	Yes	618 (91.6)	57 (8.4)
Living-mother family	No	26 (85.7)	5 (14.3)	2.71	.181
Living-mother family	Yes	628 (90.1)	58 (9.9)
Self-reported school achievement	High	264 (88.9)	33 (11.1)	2.32	.312
	Medium	210 (92.5)	17 (7.5)
	Low	180 (88.7)	23 (11.3)
Stress	No	168 (94.4)	10 (5.6)	2.96	.054
Stress	Yes	486 (90.2)	53 (9.8)
Alcohol consumption	No	625 (92.9)	48 (7.1)	37.45	＜.001
	Yes	29 (65.9)	15 (34.1)
Current smoking	No	640 (92.9)	59 (7.1)	4.15	.065
Current smoking	Yes	14 (77.8)	4 (22.2)
Perceived health status	Poor	50 (89.3)	6 (10.7)	1.53	.463
	Fair	189 (89.6)	22 (10.4)
	Good	415 (92.2)	35 (7.8)

Table 2.

Descriptive Statistics on Methods of NSSI (N=63)

Characteristics	Categories	NSSI			x²	p
		Total	Boy	Girl
		n (%)	n (%)	n (%)
Carving word on body	No	32 (50.8)
Carving word on body	Yes	31 (49.2)	16 (51.6)	15 (48.4)	0.39	.532
Carving marks on body	No	32 (50.8)
Carving marks on body	Yes	31 (49.2)	17 (54.8)	14 (45.2)	1.27	.259
Wrist-cutting	No	43 (68.3)
Wrist-cutting	Yes	20 (31.7)	5 (25.0)	15 (75.0)	6.01	.014
Head banging	No	44 (69.8)
Head banging	Yes	19 (30.2)	10 (52.6)	9 (47.4)	0.27	.601
Self-scratching	No	46 (73.0)
Self-scratching	Yes	17 (27.0)	7 (41.2)	10 (58.8)	0.38	.534
Sharp objects into body	No	49 (77.8)
Sharp objects into body	Yes	14 (22.2)	4 (28.6)	10 (71.4)	2.61	.136
Biting	No	55 (87.3)
Biting	Yes	8 (12.7)	1 (12.5)	7 (87.5)	4.53	.056
Self-punching	No	55 (87.3)
	Yes	8 (12.7)	3 (37.5)	5 (62.5)	0.37	.710
Prevented wounds from healing	No	55 (87.7)
	Yes	8 (12.7)	1 (12.5)	7 (87.5)	4.53	.056
Rubbing sandpaper	No	60 (95.2)
Rubbing sandpaper	Yes	3 (4.8)	0 (0.0)	3 (100.0)	2.86	.240
Bleach scrubbing	No	62 (98.4)
Bleach scrubbing	Yes	1 (1.6)	0 (0.0)	1 (100.0)	0.92	1.00
Rub glass into skin	No	62 (98.4)
Rub glass into skin	Yes	1 (1.6)	1 (100.0)	0 (0.0)	1.19	.476
Breaking bones	No	62 (98.4)
Breaking bones	Yes	1 (1.6)	0 (0.0)	1 (100.0)	0.92	1.00
Other forms of self-harm	No	57 (90.5)
	Yes	6 (9.5)	0 (0.0)	6 (100.0)	6.02	.025

Table 3.

Comparison of Anxiety, Depression, Self-esteem, Parents' Neglected Attitude, Parents' Abused Attitude (N=717)

Variables	Without NSSI	NSSI	t	p
Variables	M±SD	M±SD	t	p
Anxiety	5.34±3.28	7.79±4.12	-5.51	＜.001
Depression	4.80±3.18	6.23±3.66	-3.36	.001
Self-esteem	30.60±4.94	27.06±5.69	5.31	＜.001
Parents' neglected attitude	6.30±2.10	7.50±2.10	-4.30	＜.001
Parents' abused attitude	6.40±2.27	8.31±3.13	-6.12	＜.001

Table 4.

Logistic Regression Analysis for Variables Predicting Engagement in Non-suicidal Self-injury (N=717)

Variables	aOR	95% Confidence interval	p
Alcohol consumption	4.95	2.28~10.75	<.001
Anxiety	1.12	1.01~1.23	.027
Depression	0.97	0.87~1.08	.625
Self esteem	0.95	0.89~1.03	.242
Parents' neglected attitude	1.12	0.98~1.29	.090
Parents’ abused attitude	1.21	1.08~1.35	<.001

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