Longitudinal relationship between harsh parenting and adolescent non-suicidal self-injury: The roles of basic psychological needs frustration and self-concept clarity

Harsh parenting has been shown to be associated with adolescents' non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) behavior. However, less is known about the mechanism underlying the association. The aim of this study was to use a one-year longitudinal design to investigate the mediating role of basic psychological needs frustration and the moderating role of self-concept clarity in the association between harsh parenting and NSSI. Three waves of data (called T1, T2 and T3) were collected 6 months apart, between April 2021 and 2022, in a sample of 786 Chinese adolescents (52.0 % girls; Mage at Wave 1 = 13.27 years). Structural equation model was used to test a longitudinal moderated mediation model, with gender, age and baseline NSSI as covariates. The results showed process of mediation in which T1 harsh parenting was longitudinally and positively associated with T3 NSSI through T2 basic psychological needs frustration. Furthermore, moderated mediation analyses revealed that T2 self-concept clarity buffered the adverse impact of T2 needs frustration on T3 NSSI, thereby mitigating the mediation process. The findings support the self-determination theory, and suggest that fostering adolescents' self-concept clarity and satisfying their psychological needs may be useful in programs designed to lower the risk of NSSI.