Cited by 316Suicide and Self-Harm StudiesHomicide, Infanticide, and Child AbusePersonality Disorders and Psychopathology

Global prevalence and characteristics of non-suicidal self-injury between 2010 and 2021 among a non-clinical sample of adolescents: A meta-analysis

Open access
Xiao, Qingqing, Song, Xiaozhen, Huang, Lijuan, Hou, Dandan, Huang, Xuehua·2022·Frontiers in Psychiatry

Abstract

Background: Adolescents with immature mind and unstable emotional control are high-risk groups of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) behavior. We meta-analyzed the global prevalence of NSSI and prevalence of NSSI characteristics in a non-clinical sample of adolescents between 2010 and 2021. Methods: A systematic search for relevant articles published from January 1, 2010 to June 30, 2021 was performed within the scholarly database search engines of CBM, CNKI, VIP, Wanfang, PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, and Embase. Eligibility criteria were as follows: provided cross-sectional data on the prevalence of NSSI; the subjects were non-clinical sample adolescents; and a clear definition of NSSI was reported. We used the following definiton of NSSI as our standard: the deliberate, self-inflicted destruction of body tissue, such as cutting, burning, and biting, without attempted suicide. The quality evaluation tool for cross-sectional studies recommended by the JBI was used. The global prevalence of NSSI was calculated based on the random-effects model by Comprehensive Meta-analysis version 3.0. Subgroup analyses were performed to compare the prevalence according to sex, living place, smoking or drinking history, and family structure. Results: Sixty-two studies involving 264,638 adolescents were included. The aggregate prevalence of NSSI among a non-clinical sample of adolescents was similar between over a lifetime (22.0%, 95% CI 17.9–26.6) and during a 12-month period (23.2%, 95% CI 20.2–26.5). Repetitive NSSI was more common than episodic NSSI (20.3% vs. 8.3%) but the frequency of mild injury (12.6%) was similar to that of moderate injury (11.6%). Multiple-method NSSI occurred slightly more often compared than one-method NSSI (16.0% vs. 11.1%). The top three types of NSSI in adolescents were banging/hitting (12.0%, 95% CI 8.9–15.9), pinching (10.0%, 95% CI 6.7–14.8), and pulling hair (9.8%, 95% CI 8.3–11.5), and the least common type was swallowing drugs/toxic substances/chemicals (1.0%, 95% CI 0.5–2.2). Subgroup analyses showed that being female, smoking, drinking, having siblings, and belonging to a single-parent family may be linked to higher prevalence of NSSI. Conclusion: This meta-analysis found a high prevalence of NSSI in non-clinical sample of adolescents, but there are some changes in severity, methods, and reasons. Based on the current evidence, adolescents in modern society are more inclined to implement NSSI behavior by a variety of ways, which usually are repetitive, and moderate and severe injuries are gradually increasing. It is also worth noting that adolescents with siblings or in single-parent families are relatively more likely to implement NSSI behavior due to maladjustment to the new family model. Future research needs to continue to elucidate the features and risk factors of NSSI so as to intervene in a targeted way. Limitation: The limitation of this study is that the heterogeneity among the included studies is not low, and it is mainly related to Chinese and English studies. The results of this study should be used with caution. Systematic review registration: [ www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/ ], identifier [CRD42022283217].

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.912441

Cites

80 of 80 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 14

  1. [41]Jiang XQ Xu WY Li XY Wen XT Xie F Huang Q Risk factors and cumulative effect of non-suicidal self injury behavior of rural senior high school students in Wuyuan. Chin J Sch Health. (2018) 39: 1876– 8. 10.16835/j.cnki.1000-9817.2018.12.033 · DOI
  2. [42]Cui YY Huang YY Chen DY Zhou L Wang Y. Status and influencing factors of non-suicidal self-injury behaviors of middle school students in Shenzhen. South China J Prev Med. (2018) 44: 416– 20. 10.13217/j.scjpm.2018.0416 · DOI
  3. [47]Cao X Wen S Liu J Lu J. Study on the prevalence and risk factors of non-suicidal self-injury among middle school students in Shenzhen. Sichuan Mental Health. (2019) 32: 449– 52. 10.11886/j.issn.1007-3256.2019.05.014 · DOI
  4. [49]Chen Y Zhang M Guo H Yi Y Ma Y Tang J. Associations of neglect and physical abuse with non-suicidal self-injury behaviors among adolescents in rural China. Chin J Sch Health. (2019) 40: 984– 90. 10.16835/j.cnki.1000-9817.2019.07.007 · DOI
  5. [50]Ma Y Chen Y Zhang M Guo H Yi Y Ma Y Association of non-suicidal self-injury with Internet addictive behavior among adolescents. Chin J Sch Health. (2019) 40: 972– 6. 10.16835/j.cnki.1000-9817.2019.07.004 · DOI
  6. [51]Xu H Wan Y Xu S Zhang S Wang W Zeng H Associations of non-suicidal self-injury with suicidal ideation and suicide attempt among middle school students. Chin Mental Health J. (2019) 33: 774– 8. 10.3969/j.issn.1000-6729.2019.10.010 · DOI
  7. [52]Zhang SS Zhang Y. The impact of parental psychological control on non-suicidal self-injury: the role of campus bullying as a mediator. Chin J Dis Control Prev. (2019) 23: 459– 63. 10.16462/j.cnki.zhjbkz.2019.04.018 · DOI
  8. [56]Hu Y Xu H Wan YH Su PY Fan YG Ye DQ. The status and influencing factors of non-suicidal self-injury among middle school students in Anhui Province. Chin J Dis Control Prev. (2020) 24: 923– 8. 10.16462/j.cnki.zhjbkz.2020.08.012 · DOI
  9. [57]Jiang Z Xu H Wang S Li S Song X Zhang S Associations between childhood abuse experience parent-child relationship and non-suicidal self-injury in middle school students. Chin J Sch Health. (2020) 41: 987– 90. 10.16835/j.cnki.1000-9817.2020.07.008 · DOI
  10. [59]Mao C Li Y Li P. Relationship between parenting styles and non-suicidal self-injury in senior students: the moderating role of gender. J Shandong Univ. (2020) 58: 100– 5. 10.6040/j.issn.1671-7554.0.2019.1012 · DOI
  11. [60]Pang W Wang X. Status of non-suicidal self-injury among middle school students in Zhuang nationality and its association with internet addiction. Chin J Sch Health. (2020) 41: 732– 5. 10.16835/j.cnki.1000-9817.2020.05.026 · DOI
  12. [61]Wang L Li D Yang R Hu J Wan Y Zhang S. Associations of health literacy and screen time with non-suicidal self-injury behavior among middle school students in Shenyang. Chin J Sch Health. (2020) 41: 205– 8. 10.16835/j.cnki.1000-9817.2020.02.012 · DOI
  13. [62]Zhou F Ao C Hu W Hu DZ Long XX Huang P. Mediating role of help-seeking behaviorin relationship between being bullied and non-suicidal self-injury in middle school student. J Nanchang Univ. (2020) 60: 60– 5. 10.13764/j.cnki.ncdm.2020.06.014 · DOI
  14. [68]Sun W Shen S Zhang Z. Analysis of risk factors for non-suicidal self-injury among middle school students. J Clin Psychosom Dis. (2021) 27: 83– 5. 10.3969/j.issn.1672-187X.2021.01.020 · DOI

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Xiao, Q., Song, X., Huang, L., Hou, D., & Huang, X.
Affiliations
Sichuan University (CN)
Corresponding author
Huang, Xuehua
Venue
Frontiers in Psychiatry
Published
2022-08-10
Volume
13
Pages
912441-912441
ISSN
1664-0640 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4290989029
Cited by
316
References
80
Citations by year
2026: 90 · 2025: 130 · 2024: 62 · 2023: 33 · 2022: 1
FWCI
9.44
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Frontiers in Psychiatry (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • Department of Science and Technology of Sichuan Province (2021YFS0151)
  • Health Commission of Sichuan Province
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Homicide, Infanticide, and Child Abuse
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Disorders and Psychopathology
Keywords
non-suicidal self-injury, adolescents, prevalence, non-clinical sample, injury severity, sex differences, family structure, living place, emotion regulation, impulsivity

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review