Self-compassion and psychological mindedness in depressed Turkish adolescents with non-suicidal self-injury

ABSTRACT

Objective

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a significant mental health issue among depressed adolescents. This study aimed to investigate roles of psychological mindedness (PM) and self-compassion among depressed Turkish adolescents with NSSI. The mediating roles of PM and self-compassion between depression severity and NSSI were evaluated.

Method

119 depressed adolescents evaluated at a child psychiatry outpatient clinic in Turkey were categorised based on NSSI experience. Self-compassion and psychological mindedness scales (covering psychological interest, insight, help-seeking, and capacity for change subscales) were measured.

Results

PM and self-compassion scores were lower in depressed adolescents with NSSI than adolescents without NSSI. Psychological interest (Odds Ratio (OR): 0.886, Confidence Interval (CI): 0.788–0.996), capacity for change (OR: 0.902, CI: 0.815–0.998), and self-compassion (OR: 0.937, CI: 0.879–0.999) emerged as protective factors against NSSI. Also, significant indirect effects of PM and self-compassion were observed between depression severity and NSSI. Seeking psychological help related to both intrapersonal and interpersonal functions, whereas psychological interest specifically related to interpersonal functions.

Conclusions

PM and self-compassion appear as protective factors, with certain PM components linked to intrapersonal and interpersonal functions of NSSI. Thus, integrating interventions to boost PM and self-compassion into depression treatment strategies could be crucial.

KEY POINTS

What is already known about this topic:

1. It is known that the level of self-compassion and psychological mindedness (PM) is low in depressed individuals.

2. Although NSSI is frequently associated with depressed adolescents, self-injury is not observed in all depressed cases.

3. NSSI has intrapersonal and interpersonal functions, and the role of these functions varies with different psychopathology, including depression.

What this topic adds:

1. Depressed adolescents with higher PM and self-compassion scores are protected from NSSI.

2. PM and self-compassion in depressed adolescents mediate the NSSI with no significant association with depression severity.

3. Some components of PM are related to the intrapersonal and interpersonal functions of the NSSI.

KEYWORDS:

• Compassion
• depression
• adolescent
• self-injury

Acknowledgements

We thank all our patients and their families who participated in the study. We would like to thank Kübra Şan for her support in editing and proofreading the text.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author contribution

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Data collection were performed by Burçin Özlem Ateş, Esra Güngör Bağlıcakoğlu, Hesna Gül, and statistical analysis were performed by professional statistician and results interpreted by all authors. The manuscript was written by Burçin Özlem Ateş and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Ethical approval

This study protocol was approved by the Clinical Research Ethics Committee of Gulhane Faculty of Medicine in 2021. All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards (No:2021/3, Date:28 April 2021).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the authors.