The effects of social support, perceived family environment, loneliness and emotion regulation difficulties on nonsuicidal self-harm behaviors & suicide ideation

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of social support, perceived family environment, loneliness and emotion regulation difficulties on nonsuicidal self-harm behaviors and suicide ideation among 414 Turkish college students, between the ages of 17 and 19. Demographic Questionnaire, Brief Symptom Inventory, The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, Family Assessment Device, Inventory of Statements about Self-injury, The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, Suicide Ideation Scale, UCLA Loneliness Scale were used to collect data. The students with nonsuicidal self-injury behaviors reported more psychological problems and treatment history compared to the participants without nonsuicidal self-injury behaviors. Cutting, pinching, pulling hair, scratching, banging and hitting were found to be related with low socio-economic status. Females were found to show biting, pinching, pulling hair and scratching more frequently compared to men. Many nonsuicidal self-harm behavior functions were found to be positively correlated with self-blame, acceptance, rumination, putting into perspective and catastrophizing, suicide ideation, symptoms, emotion regulation difficulties and family dysfunction. The associations of nonsuicidal self-harm and suicide ideation with other study variables were investigated through regression analysis. Self-blame, catastrophizing, blaming others, positive reappraisal, loneliness, communication in the family, family support, impulsivity, limited access to emotion regulation strategy, lack of emotional clarity, depression, anxiety and negative-self predicted suicide ideation. Positive reappraisal, blaming others, family support, impulsivity and hostility were found to predict nonsuicidal self-harm behaviors. The mediating role of difficulties in emotion regulation on the relationship between loneliness and self-injury was supported in our study. The findings of the present study were discussed in the light of the relevant literature with clinical implications and future suggestions. Keywords: nonsuicidal self-harm, suicide ideation, social support, family environment, loneliness, emotion regulation difficulties.