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Differences in Non-suicidal Self-injury Behaviors between Unipolar Depression and Bipolar Depression in Adolescent Outpatients

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Abstract

Objective

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) has a higher prevalence in adolescents with depressive disorders than in community adolescents. This study examined the differences in NSSI behaviors between adolescents with unipolar depression (UD) and those with bipolar depression (BD).

Methods

Adolescents with UD or BD were recruited from 20 general or psychiatric hospitals across China. The methods, frequency, and function of NSSI were assessed by Functional Assessment of Self-Mutilation. The Beck Suicide Ideation Scale was used to evaluate adolescents’ suicidal ideation, and the 10-item Kessler Psychological Distress Scale to estimate the anxiety and depression symptoms.

Results

The UD group had higher levels of depression (19.16 vs.17.37, F=15.23, P<0.001) and anxiety symptoms (17.73 vs.16.70, F=5.00, P=0.026) than the BD group. Adolescents with BD had a longer course of NSSI than those with UD (2.00 vs.1.00 year, Z=−3.39, P=0.001). There were no statistical differences in the frequency and the number of methods of NSSI between the UD and BD groups. Depression (r=0.408, P<0.01) and anxiety (r=0.391, P<0.01) were significantly and positively related to NSSI frequency.

Conclusion

Adolescents with BD had a longer course of NSSI than those with UD. More importantly, NSSI frequency were positively and strongly correlated with depression and anxiety symptoms, indicating the importance of adequate treatment of depression and anxiety in preventing and intervening adolescents’ NSSI behaviors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Ting-wei Wang, Jian Gong, Yue Zhou & Yan-ni Wang

  2. Shenzhen Mental Health Center, Shenzhen Kangning Hospital, Shenzhen, 518000, China

    Ting-wei Wang, Chun-yan Zhang, Jun-chang Li & Yong-jie Zhou

  3. College of Management, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518000, China

    Yang Wang

  4. School of Biomedical Engineering, Health Science Center, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518000, China

    Zhen Liang & Zhi-guo Zhang

  5. School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Tsinghua University-Peking University Joint Center for Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100000, China

    Ke-liang Pang

  6. CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100000, China

    Jie-si Wang

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  1. Ting-wei Wang
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  3. Yang Wang
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Correspondence to Yan-ni Wang or Yong-jie Zhou.

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Additional information

This work was supported by the Sanming Project of Medicine in Shenzhen (No. SZSM202011014), Shenzhen Fund for Guangdong Provincial High-level Clinical Key Specialties (No. SZGSP013), Shenzhen Key Medical Discipline Construction Fund (No. SZXK072), and Shenzhen Science and Technology Research and Development Fund for Sustainable Development Project (No. KCXFZ20201221173613036).

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Wang, Tw., Gong, J., Wang, Y. et al. Differences in Non-suicidal Self-injury Behaviors between Unipolar Depression and Bipolar Depression in Adolescent Outpatients. CURR MED SCI 43, 998–1004 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11596-023-2772-z

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