Determining the Pattern of Social Skills Communications and Emotion Control with Self-Harm in Women Aged 20-25 Years: The Mediating Role of Depression and Experience of Violence

Today, adolescent women and girls live in a complex and challenging world compared to the past due to social, geographical, cultural, and economic evolution, and consequently, their social needs and desires have changed. Adolescence is one of the most influential and important stages in a person's life. It is associated with psychological and physical changes. One of the prevalent and high–risk behaviors, which is more prevalent in adolescence, is self–harming. This behavior can have numerous psychological and physical consequences for individuals and society; most people do not approve of it. This study aimed to determine the pattern of social skills, communication, and controlling emotion with self–harm in women aged 25–20, considering the mediating role of depression and experience of violence.

The method of the present study was descriptive–analytical using structural equation modeling. The statistical population comprised all women aged 20–25 years living in Karaj City, Iran, in 2020. Of whom 350 were enrolled in the study by purposeful sampling according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. After a complete and clear explanation of the study objectives and procedure and observing ethical considerations such as confidentiality of samples' information and names, the researcher asked the participants to answer the questionnaires carefully. The inclusion criteria were as follows: having normal intelligence, willingness and informed consent to cooperate and participate in research, and having self–harm behaviors at a significant level based on Self–Harm Inventory results (Sansone & Sansone, 2010). The exclusion criterion was not answering the questions accurately. To collect data, we used Self–Harm Inventory (Sansone & Sansone, 2010), Beck Depression Inventory (Beck et al., 1996), the Teenagers Social Skills Inventory (Inderbitzen & Foster, 1992), Emotion Control Questionnaire (Roger & Najarian, 1989), and Violence against Women Inventory (Haj–Yahia, 2003). The proposed model was evaluated by structural equation modeling using SPSS26 and AMOS24 software at a significance level 0.05. The bootstrap method was used to analyze the intermediate relationships.

Results showed that social skills (p<0.001, β=–0.450) and emotional control (p=0.003, β=–0.183) had direct and negative effects on self–harm. Also, depression (p<0.001, β=0.440) and the experience of violence (p<0.001, β=0.372) had positive and direct effects on self–harm. The indirect effects of social skills on self–harm with the mediating role of depression and experience of violence were –0.244 and –0.2812, respectively (p<0.001). The indirect effects of emotional control on self–harm with the mediating role of depression and experience of violence were –0.1628 (p<0.001) and –0.0962 (p=0.003), respectively. In addition, good fit indices supported the optimal fit of the model with the collected data (PCFI=0.545, PNFI=0.530, χ2/df=2.82, RMSEA=0.072, IFI=0.908, CFI=0.907 and GFI=0.911).

Based on the results of the present study, it is possible to identify some predictive conditions of self–harming behaviors in women. By strengthening social skills and emotion control, it is possible to reduce self–harming behaviors in women, and depression and the experience of violence weaken this relationship. Considering these conditions, measures can be taken to reduce self–harming behaviors in women.