Relationship of Temperament and Character Traits, Emotional Regulation and Perceived Parenting With Self-harming Behaviors in Adolescents

 The current study aims to provide a structural modeling of self-harm behaviors in adolescents based on their temperament and character traits, emotion regulation strategies, and perceived parenting.

 This is a descriptive/correlational study. The study population consists of all high school students (1-3th grade) during 2017-2018 in Tehran, Iran. Of these, 159 with a mean age of 15±0.75 years were selected by using a cluster sampling technique. they were assessed by Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ), Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ), and Deliberate Self-Harming Inventory (DSHI). For data analysis, Pearson correlation test and structural equation modeling were conducted in LISREL v. 8.8 and SPSS v. 20 applications.

 Novelty seeking dimension of TCI and maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies had a direct and positive relationship with self-harming behavior. Although harm avoidance dimension of TCI and authoritarian parenting had no direct effect on self-harming behaviors, they became effective after mediation by maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies. Maladaptive emotion regulation strategies and novelty seeking together were able to predict 22% of the variance in self- harming behavior

 Novelty seeking personality trait and authoritarian parenting can affect and predict self-harming behaviors of the adolescents.