The Effect of Senior Elementary School Students’ Emotional Perception Clarity, Emotion Regulation, and Family Relationship on Non-Suicidal Self-Injury and Depression

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the correlations among emotional perception clarity, emotion regulation, family relationship, non-suicidal self-injury, and depression, and to determine associated factors of non-suicidal self-injury and depression for senior elementary school students. Methods: Data were collected from 150 early adolescences in K region, Korea. A self-report questionnaire consisted of Trait Meta-Mood Scale, Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, Family Relationship Assessment Scale, Functional Assessment of Self-Mutilation, and Children's Depression Inventory. The data were analyzed using t-test, Pearson ’ s correlation coefficient, logistic regression, and multiple regression analysis. Results: Non-suicidal self-injury and depression were positively associated with maladaptive emotion regulation strategy and family conflict, but negatively related to emotional perception clarity and family support. Adaptive emotion regulation strategy and family togetherness were only significantly correlated with depression. In logistic regression analysis, significant predictors of non-suicidal self-injury were emotional perception clarity, maladaptive emotion regulation strategy, and family support. Multiple regression analysis found that significant factors of depression were adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies, which explained 38.0% of the variance. Conclusion: Our study findings suggest that targeted intervention to reinforce the adaptive emotion regulation strategy and family relationship may prevent non-suicidal self-injury, and depression for senior elementary school students.