Non-suicidal self-injury in Chinese population: a scoping review of prevalence, method, risk factors and preventive interventions

Diyang Qu; Xue Wen; Bowen Liu; Xuan Zhang; Yuhao He; Dongyang Chen; Xueer Duan; Jiaao Yu; Dongyu Liu; Xiaoqian Zhang; Jianjun Ou; Jiansong Zhou; Zaixu Cui; Jing An; Yuanyuan Wang; Xinyu Zhou; Tifei Yuan; Jie Tang; Weihua Yue; Runsen Chen

doi:10.1016/j.lanwpc.2023.100794

Non-suicidal self-injury in Chinese population: a scoping review of prevalence, method, risk factors and preventive interventions

Lancet Reg Health West Pac. 2023 May 26:37:100794. doi: 10.1016/j.lanwpc.2023.100794. eCollection 2023 Aug.

Authors

Diyang Qu^{1

2}, Xue Wen^{1

2}, Bowen Liu^{1

2}, Xuan Zhang¹, Yuhao He¹, Dongyang Chen^{1

2}, Xueer Duan¹, Jiaao Yu¹, Dongyu Liu^{1

2}, Xiaoqian Zhang³, Jianjun Ou⁴, Jiansong Zhou⁴, Zaixu Cui⁵, Jing An^{6

7

8}, Yuanyuan Wang⁹, Xinyu Zhou¹⁰, Tifei Yuan¹¹, Jie Tang¹², Weihua Yue^{5

13

14

15}, Runsen Chen^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Vanke School of Public Health, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
² Institute for Healthy China, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
³ Department of Psychiatry, Tsinghua University Yuquan Hospital, Beijing, China.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, 410011, Hunan, China.
⁵ Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, 102206, China.
⁶ Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Beijing, China.
⁷ Peking University Huilongguan Clinical Medical School, Beijing, China.
⁸ WHO Collaborating Center for Research and Training in Suicide Prevention, Beijing, China.
⁹ Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, China; School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.
¹⁰ Department of Psychiatry, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
¹¹ Brain Health Institute, National Center for Mental Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
¹² Department of Preventive, School of Public Health, Guangzhou Medical University, China.
¹³ Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, Beijing 100191, China.
¹⁴ NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Beijing 100191, China.
¹⁵ PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.

Abstract

Non-suicidal self-injury behavior (NSSI) is a serious public health concern that requires immediate attention. Despite the high prevalence of NSSI among the Chinese population, there is a significant gap in research on the comprehensive picture of this field. Therefore, a scoping review was conducted to investigate the prevalence, methods, risk factors, and preventive intervention programs related to NSSI in China. The review found that the estimated lifetime prevalence of NSSI among Chinese youth population is alarmingly high at 24.7% (N = 1,088,433). Common methods of NSSI include scratching, hitting, and biting. Additionally, the review synthesized 249 risk factors based on the biopsychosocial-ecological framework, highlighting the urgent need for intervention. However, only 12 empirical studies focus on NSSI prevention or intervention programs were included. These findings underscore the necessity for more clinical practices and larger studies to identify effective interventions and ultimately alleviate the burden of NSSI on the Chinese population.

Funding: This review was supported by Humanity and Social Science Youth foundation of Ministry of Education (22YJCZH018), Science and Technology Innovation 2030 (STI2030-Major Projects:2021ZD0200702), National Natural Science Foundation of China (81825009), and Shuimu Tsinghua Scholar. No funding agencies were involved in the data collection, data analysis, and writing of this paper.

Keywords: China; Intervention; Method; Non-suicidal self-injury; Prevalence; Prevention; Risk factor.

Publication types

Review