The structural model of childhood trauma with non-suicidal self-injury behavior in adolescents with borderline personality traits based on the mediating role of distress tolerance

The factors associated with non-suicidal self-injury among adolescents have been extensively researched. However, the fundamental mechanism of the relationship between childhood trauma and non-suicidal self-injury remains limited.

This study aimed to investigate the structural relationships of a model linking childhood trauma and non-suicidal self-injury behaviors in adolescents with borderline personality traits, based on the mediating role of distress tolerance.

The research method was descriptive correlational. The statistical population of this study consisted of all high school students in Tehran during the academic year of 2022-2023. In this study, 316 students were selected from 1325 students with borderline personality traits using a multi-stage cluster sampling method. Data were collected using the Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) behavior questionnaire (Klonsky & Glenn, 2009), Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (Bernstein et al., 2003), and Distress Tolerance Scale (Simons & Gaher, 2005). Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation statistics and structural equation modeling with SPSS and AMOS statistical software.

The results indicate a good fit of the proposed model with the data. Structural equation modeling demonstrated that childhood trauma accounted for 10 percent of the variance in distress tolerance. Furthermore, 60 percent of the variance in non-suicidal self-injury-oriented behaviors among adolescents was explained by childhood trauma and distress tolerance.

Meanwhile, interventions in childhood trauma and enhancing distress tolerance skills may effectively prevent the onset of non-suicidal self-injurious behaviors in adolescents.