Abstract
Objectives: This study aimed to explore the prevalence of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) among Druze adolescents in Israel, an ethnic minority, and examine the influence of identity conflict, depression, and performance of risky behaviors on such adolescents' engagement in NSSI. This investigation is important because little is known about NSSI among adolescents from ethnic minorities. Methods: Overall, 290 Druze adolescents aged 16–18 (mean = 16.26, standard deviation = 0.9) years (63.9% female) participated in this study. They were recruited through snowball sampling from three Druze schools that agreed to participate in the study. All participants completed self-report measures for NSSI, depression, anxiety, engagement in risky behaviors, emotion regulation, sleep problems, and identity integration. Results: Almost 20% of the total sample engaged in NSSI. Those who engaged in NSSI reported more significant depression, anxiety, sleep problems, and engagement in risky behaviors when compared with those who did not engage in NSSI. Moreover, those who engaged in NSSI reported experiencing a higher level of identity conflict. Further analysis revealed an indirect effect of identity conflict on NSSI through engagement in risky behaviors. Conclusions: This study's findings clarify the prevalence of NSSI among Druze adolescents, as well as contributing factors, and also highlights the importance of developing interventions that specifically target this unique ethnic group.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 938825 |
| Journal | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| Volume | 13 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 9 Nov 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:Copyright © 2022 Toukhy, Ophir, Stukalin, Halabi and Hamdan.
Funding
NT: writing—original draft: preparation, creation and/or presentation of the published work, specifically writing the initial draft (including substantive translation) and writing—review & editing: preparation, creation and/or presentation of the published work by those from the original research group, specifically critical review, and commentary or revision—including pre- or post-publication stages. SO: writing—original draft: preparation, creation and/or presentation of the published work and specifically writing the initial draft (including substantive translation). YS: formal analysis: application of statistical, mathematical, computational, or other formal techniques to analyze or synthesize study data. SHal: conceptualization: ideas, formulation or evolution of overarching research goals and aims, funding acquisition: acquisition of the financial support for the project leading to this publication, and supervision: oversight and leadership responsibility for the research activity planning and execution and including mentorship external to the core team. SHam: conceptualization: ideas, formulation or evolution of overarching research goals and aims, investigation: conducting a research and investigation process, specifically performing the experiments, or data/evidence collection and management, and coordination responsibility for the research activity planning and execution, resources: provision of study materials, reagents, materials, patients, laboratory samples, animals, instrumentation, computing resources, or other analysis tools, and supervision: oversight and leadership responsibility for the research activity planning and execution and including mentorship external to the core team. NT and SO: equally contributed to the preparation and writing of the paper, as agreed by all other authors. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.
Keywords
- Druze
- adolescents
- ethnic minority
- identity conflict
- non-suicidal self-injury
