ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Personality and Social Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1603503
The relationship between reinforcement sensitivity and non-suicidal self-injury among adolescents: moderated mediation effect
Provisionally accepted
- 1Taiyuan Institute of Technology, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China
- 2Beijing Polytechnic College, Beijing, China
- 3Hecheng Middle School, Pingyao, China
- 4Taiyuan No.13 Middle School, Taiyuan, China
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Objective: Non-suicidal self-injury(hereinafter referred to as NSSI) is a significant public health concern among adolescents. Understanding its underlying psychological mechanisms is crucial for developing effective interventions.This study explored how reinforcement sensitivity affects NSSI among adolescents in China. Methods: A moderated mediation effect model was constructed to investigate the mediating role of self-criticism in the relationship between reinforcement sensitivity and NSSI, as well as the moderating role of self-compassion in this mediated pathway. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 1582 middle school students. The study utilized established scales, including the BIS/BAS Scale, the Self-Criticism scale, the Self-Compassion Scale and the Adolescents Self-Harm Scale. Results: A total of 1448 valid questionnaires were analyzed. The results showed that (1) punishment sensitivity can significantly positively predict NSSI among adolescents, with self-criticism partially mediating this relationship; (2) fun-seeking can significantly positively predict NSSI among adolescents, with self-criticism fully mediating this relationship; (3) reward responsiveness can significantly negatively predict NSSI among adolescents, with self-criticism partially mediating this relationship; (4) the relationship between self-criticism and NSSI was moderated by self-compassion (the latter half of the mediation effect). Conclusion: These results not only enhance our understanding of the mechanisms and conditions under which reinforcement sensitivity impacts adolescents' NSSI, but also have important implications for targeted intervention measures.
Keywords: Non-suicidal self-injury, Reinforcement sensitivity, self-criticism, self-compassion, adolescents, Psychological mediators
Received: 09 Jun 2025; Accepted: 23 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kong, Chen, Hou and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Rong Kong, kongr@tit.edu.cn
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