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Updated: May 30, 2026

Validation of a Psychosocial Intervention on Body Image in Older People: An Experimental Design
Published on: May 31, 2021
Body image as a mediator of non-suicidal self-injury in adolescents
Jennifer J Muehlenkamp1, Amy M Brausch
1Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Eau Claire, WI 54702-4004, USA. muehlejj@uwec.edu
Abstract:
Attitudes towards the body have been largely overlooked as a potential risk factor for adolescent non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) despite theorizing that a negative body image may play a critical role in the development of this behavior. The current study used structural equation modeling to evaluate the fit of a theoretical model specifying body image as a mediator between negative affect and NSSI in a combined clinical and non-clinical sample of 284 adolescents. The data supported the model, accounted for 21.6% of the variance in NSSI, and body image significantly mediated the relationship between negative affect and NSSI. These findings provide essential preliminary evidence that body image may represent a necessary but not sufficient risk factor for NSSI in adolescents and that treatment for NSSI should consider targeting body-related pathology in addition to emotion regulation. The findings also support including body image within developing etiological models of NSSI.
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