Predicting the Tendency To Self - Harm Based on Feelings of Loneliness Through the Mediation of Executive Functions in Secondary School Adolescents Aged 13 To 17 Years .
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63053/ijhes.196Keywords:
Non-suicidal self-harm, loneliness, executive functions, adolescence, structuralAbstract
The aim of this study was to predict the tendency to engage in self-harm based on feelings of loneliness, through the mediation of executive functions, in adolescents. In terms of purpose, the research method was applied, and in terms of data collection, it was descriptive, utilizing a correlational approach with structural equation modeling. The statistical population consisted of all adolescents aged 13 to 17 years in schools of Karaj city during the 2024-2025 academic year. A sample of 400 individuals (200 girls and 200 boys) was selected using multi-stage cluster sampling. Participants completed questionnaires on non-fatal self-harm, loneliness, and executive functioning. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling with SPSS and Amos software.
The findings indicated that feelings of loneliness directly and negatively affected executive functions and directly and positively predicted the tendency to self-harm. Furthermore, executive functions exerted a direct and negative effect on the tendency to self-harm. Additionally, a significant indirect effect was observed; feelings of loneliness increased the tendency to self-harm through the weakening of executive functions. This result provides evidence that executive functions, as a key cognitive mechanism, mediate the relationship between feelings of loneliness and self-harm in adolescents.
Consequently, it can be stated that feelings of loneliness increase the tendency to self-harm in adolescents, both directly and indirectly, by weakening the brain's cognitive and executive functions. These findings emphasize the necessity of simultaneously addressing psychosocial factors (such as reducing feelings of loneliness) and neurocognitive factors (such as strengthening executive functions) when designing prevention programs and interventions aimed at reducing self-harm behaviors in adolescents.
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