Does Involvement in Peer Bullying Invite Self-Injury?: The Association between Peer Bullying and Self-Injury in a Clinical Sample

UZUN ÇİÇEK A., UCUZ İ., SARI S. A., Comertoglu Arslan S., Dogru H.

Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, vol.211, no.2, pp.108-114, 2023 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 211 Issue: 2
  • Publication Date: 2023
  • Doi Number: 10.1097/nmd.0000000000001574
  • Journal Name: Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, Abstracts in Social Gerontology, ATLA Religion Database, BIOSIS, CAB Abstracts, Child Development & Adolescent Studies, CINAHL, Educational research abstracts (ERA), MLA - Modern Language Association Database, Psycinfo, Violence & Abuse Abstracts
  • Page Numbers: pp.108-114
  • Keywords: adolescents, Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), peer bullying, psychopathology, self-esteem
  • Hatay Mustafa Kemal University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Previous studies have linked peer bullying to nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI). However, the evidence is largely limited to population-based groups. This study examined whether there is a relationship between NSSI and being a victim of peer bullying among adolescents in a clinical sample and how this may be influenced by types of bullying. The sample consisted of 96 outpatients with NSSI and 107 healthy adolescents. The Inventory of Statements About Self-Injury, Peer Bullying Scale, and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale were applied. Whereas the scores of each bullying type of adolescents with NSSI were significantly higher, their self-esteem scores were significantly lower. Each victimization score of bullying had a negative correlation with NSSI-onset age and self-esteem scores and a positive correlation with self-injury scores. This study demonstrated that being a victim of any type of bullying is strongly associated with self-injury. It would be advisable to screen adolescents with self-injury for exposure to bullying, and vice versa.