title: Body image as a mediator of non-suicidal self-injury in adolescents.
abstract: Attitudes towards the body have been largely overlooked as a potential risk factor for adolescent non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) despite theorizing that a negative body image may play a critical role in the development of this behavior. The current study used structural equation modeling to evaluate the fit of a theoretical model specifying body image as a mediator between negative affect and NSSI in a combined clinical and non-clinical sample of 284 adolescents. The data supported the model, accounted for 21.6% of the variance in NSSI, and body image significantly mediated the relationship between negative affect and NSSI. These findings provide essential preliminary evidence that body image may represent a necessary but not sufficient risk factor for NSSI in adolescents and that treatment for NSSI should consider targeting body-related pathology in addition to emotion regulation. The findings also support including body image within developing etiological models of NSSI.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Eau Claire, WI 54702-4004, USA. muehlejj@uwec.edu
authors.forename: Jennifer J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Muehlenkamp
authors.forename: Amy M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Brausch
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017668:Age of Onset; D057215:Body Dysmorphic Disorders / Q000150:complications*; D001828:Body Image; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000150:complications*; D011594:Psychometrics; D012307:Risk Factors; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires