Childhood Trauma and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Among Chinese Adolescents: The Chain-Mediated Role of Alexithymia and Rumination

Objective To explore the associations between childhood trauma, alexithymia, rumination, and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) among adolescents and to provide theoretical and empirical evidence for effective prevention, identification, and intervention of NSSI in the future. Methods Questionnaires, including the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, the twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia scale, the Ruminative Responses Scale, and the Adolescents Self-Harm Scale, were given to 1,270 Chinese teenagers. The mediating role was simulated utilizing Amos 24.0. Results The Pearson’s product-difference correlation analyses indicated the two-by-two significant correlations between childhood trauma, alexithymia, rumination, and NSSI. The structural equation modeling suggests that alexithymia and rumination partially mediate between childhood trauma and NSSI in teenagers, respectively. Additionally, it reveals that alexithymia and rumination chain mediate between childhood trauma and NSSI. Conclusion The study confirms the impact of childhood trauma on adolescents’ NSSI and also highlights the mediating role of alexithymia and rumination between the two. This study enriches the findings of NSSI and provides a theoretical basis for preventing and intervening in dysfunctional behaviors among adolescents. Psychiatry Investig 2024;21(7):726-735