Background: Deliberate bodily harm without suicidal intent, has become a growing concern among young adults and adolescents. This study aims to explore the determinants of non-suicidal self-injury ((NSSI) and its correlation with psychological distress and mobile phone addiction (MPA) among university students in Jordan.
Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional study targeting university students in Jordan. The data was collected using a semi-structured online questionnaire that assessed sociodemographic characteristics, mobile phone addiction, depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts and NSSI. SPSS 30 was used for descriptive and multivariate analysis. Spearman's correlation, Chi-square, Kruskal- Wallis and Man-Whitney U were applied. Binary logistic regression was conducted to identify the predictors of significant NSSI.
Results: Out of 394 students, 63.2% reported at least one self-harm behavior, while the remaining students scored zero on the Self Harm Inventory (SHI). Significant self-harm, defined as SHI > 5, was reported by 20.56% of participants. Higher levels of anxiety and depression were strongly associated with increased NSSI severity (p < .001). Depression was a strong predictor of significant self-harm ( p < .001, OR = 1.209). Participants who reported experiencing negative or traumatic events during childhood, or having a family member with a psychological disorder, were significantly more likely to fall into the higher-risk NSSI category (p < .001).
Conclusion: This study demonstrated a high prevalence of NSSI among the study participants which was strongly associated with psychological distress and dysfunctional family environment, which may provide insight into its etiology and has implications for early identification and intervention.