

Previous research findings predicted that the pattern of associations would be different by gender. We hypothesized that significant associations between each form of childhood abuse and adolescent NSSI would be found. Therefore, a large-scale school-based survey was conducted to investigate the prevalence of childhood abuse and NSSI in adolescents in mainland China and evaluate the relationship between different forms of childhood abuse and risk of NSSI. Consequently, before the research focus can be shifted to the mechanisms underlying the association between childhood abuse and NSSI, it is imperative to determine precisely which aspects of childhood abuse drive this association. Furthermore, a study of an incarcerated population indicated that suicidal inmates had more sexual abuse, physical maltreatment, and emotional maltreatment experiences than non-suicidal inmates, and had experienced more traumatic life events during childhood, later life, and incarceration. Another study suggested that individuals who experienced psychosis were three times more to report having exposed to severe maternally perpetrated physical abuse less than 12 years, but other forms of adversity, such as maternal neglect and sexual abuse and paternal maltreatment, were not associated with psychosis.

posited that severe maltreatment perpetrated by the main maternal figure during childhood has a more central etiological role in adult women’s depression than abuse committed by a paternal figure however, the timing of the maltreatment was unrelated to risk of chronic depression.

For instance, a large retrospective cohort study has indicated a greater risk of attempted suicide following the occurrence of multiple versus single or no adverse experiences. Previous research emphasizes the importance of accounting for these specific aspects of childhood abuse as they may vary with respect to their impact on subsequent mental health and risky behaviors. Thus, the relationships between childhood abuse and NSSI have been methodologically limited, while lack of detailed information on childhood abuse, including type, perpetrator, timing etc. Moreover, to date, no studies have investigated the role of the timing of childhood abuse in relation to NSSI. Such studies have not considered the effects of specific perpetrators or number of abusive experiences. Despite a growing interest in the role of childhood abuse in the development of NSSI later in life, the majority of studies have used only general definitions of this risk indicator. have shown that exposure to any adverse childhood experience, regardless of the type of event, increased the risk of self-harm between 2.7 and 6.1 times.

In addition, deliberate self-harm has been associated with physical and emotional abuse in late adolescence and Duke et al. For example, a Finnish study indicated that girls who had been exposed to childhood sexual abuse were at a significantly increased risk of NSSI. Several studies have retrospectively investigated various groups of adverse childhood experiences as risk factors for NSSI in adolescence or adulthood. A consistently cited risk factor is childhood abuse. Substantial research has been conducted attempting to identify risk factors for NSSI with the aim of developing effective prevention and early intervention. NSSI is now recognized as a widespread and pervasive public health concern, occurring at significant rates within school-based samples of children and adolescents worldwide, and is one of the strongest predictors of completed suicide. Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is an act with a nonfatal outcome in which an individual deliberately initiates injurious behavior (such as self-cutting) or ingests a toxic substance or object with the intention of causing injury to themselves for purposes that are not culturally sanctioned.
