Nonsuicidal Self-Injury and Intimate Partner Violence: Directionality of Violence and Motives for Self-Injury

Bidirectional Violence in Intimate Relationships: A Systematic Review

Intimate partner violence is a public health problem with significant consequences at different levels. Over the years, the literature has shown that most violence is not unidirectional and perpetrated by men against women but rather bidirectional, in which both couple elements may be victims, perpetrators, or both. In this systematic literature review, we aimed to systematize the empirical knowledge to assess the prevalence of bidirectional violence, the most reported types of violence, and the influence of sex and sexual orientation on this phenomenon. The search for this systematic review was conducted in four databases, and we included studies that showed the prevalence of bidirectional violence in samples aged over 18 years, in articles written in English or Portuguese, and published between 2012 and 2022. In the qualitative synthesis, 42 empirical studies were included. The results showed that bidirectional violence is the most common pattern of violence, with psychological violence being the most reported type of bidirectional violence; men and women reported bidirectional violence at similar rates, and homosexual couples reported higher percentages of bidirectional violence than heterosexual couples. These results contradict the patriarchalist view of violence that assigns the exclusivity role of the victim to women and of the perpetrator to men, demonstrating that violence occurs regardless of sex or sexual orientation. The practical implications and future directions at the level of public policies to give visibility to the phenomenon will be duly discussed.

Risky or protective? Online social support's impact on NSSI amongst Chinese youth experiencing stressful life events

BACKGROUND

This study was designed to investigate potential gender differences in the interrelations between different types of stressful life events and non-suicidal self injury (NSSI) among Chinese youth, as well as to test the direct and moderating impacts of online social support on Chinese students' NSSI engagement under the pressure of different types of stressful life events.

METHODS

Based on the data of 2200 students from middle - highschools and universities in Northwestern China, gender difference (male/female binary) in stressful life events, online social support, NSSI and their correlations were analyzed in the study.

RESULTS

Among different types of stressful life events, male students were reported to experience a significantly higher impact of punishment and interpersonal relationship than females. Female students only experienced significantly higher learning pressure than males; Gender difference was not indentified in NSSI among youth; Stressful life events related to punishment could significantly predict NSSI engagement among males. Stressful life events related to learning pressures, interpersonal relationships, and adaption were significantly correlated to NSSI engagement among females; Online social support didn't had a significant direct effect on youth's NSSI, although it did significantly moderate the relationship between specific types of stressful life events (i.e., loss, interpersonal relationships, adaption among males and all types among females) and their NSSI.

CONCLUSION

The present study has provided evidence of specified types of stressful life events being risk factors in affecting youth's NSSI: For male students, the higher impacts of stressful life events related to punishment they experienced, the more likely they were about to engage in NSSI. For female students, stressful life events related to learning pressure, interpersonal relationships and adaption were all proved as significant predictors and risky factors of female youth's NSSI; Online social support did not impact on individual's NSSI engagement directly, but moderated it significantly as a protective factor.