Previously submitted to: Journal of Medical Internet Research (no longer under consideration since Aug 21, 2025)
Date Submitted: Jan 10, 2025
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
A family-based blended psychological intervention for adolescents with non-suicidal self-injury: A quasi-experimental study
ABSTRACT
Background:
Adolescent non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a pressing public health concern, with families playing a pivotal role in its management. Despite this, specific, evidence-based, and accessible family-based blended psychological interventions remain scarce.
Objective:
To develop a family-based blended psychological intervention specifically for NSSI in adolescents and evaluate its feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness.
Methods:
A quasi-experimental trial was conducted with 60 adolescents with NSSI and their primary caregivers recruited from a mental health center in Wuhan, China. Participants were assigned to either the intervention or control group based on their admission sequence. The intervention group received a family-based blended psychological intervention, integrating both internet-based and face-to-face components over six weeks, while the control group received routine care. Feasibility measures included recruitment and retention rates, intervention adherence, and acceptability. Primary outcomes included NSSI behavior, and secondary outcomes assessed emotional regulation difficulties, family function, depression, and anxiety. Data were collected at baseline and post-intervention.
Results:
Among 48 valid participants (intervention: 23, control: 25), recruitment and retention rates were 92.3% and 80.0%, respectively. Compliance rates for offline interventions were 65.2% (adolescents) and 78.3% (caregivers), while online compliance was 87.0% and 69.6%, respectively. Acceptability ratings were 82.6% (adolescents) and 87.0% (caregivers). The intervention group showed significant improvements in NSSI behaviors, emotional regulation, depression, anxiety, and caregiver anxiety (P < 0.05).
Conclusions:
The family-based blended psychological intervention is feasible, acceptable, and demonstrates preliminary effectiveness, providing a basis for further optimization of clinical interventions for adolescent NSSI behaviors. Clinical Trial: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2400088438; https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=205243
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