HomeAbstract of 10th-shconfDepressive Symptoms in Adolescent Self-Harm: Prevalence, Predictive Importance and Moderating Role of Gender and Age Group

Depressive Symptoms in Adolescent Self-Harm: Prevalence, Predictive Importance and Moderating Role of Gender and Age Group

  • Jun 11, 2026
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Abstract Book of the 10th World Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities

Year: 2026

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Depressive Symptoms in Adolescent Self-Harm: Prevalence, Predictive Importance and Moderating Role of Gender and Age Group

Prof Dr. Slavka Demuthova, Andrej Demuth

ABSTRACT:

Self-harm represents a significant and increasingly prevalent public health concern during adolescence and is frequently associated with depressive symptomatology, although the strength and developmental stability of this relationship remain inconsistently documented. The present cross-sectional study examined the prevalence, intensity, and predictive significance of depressive symptoms in relation to self-harming behavior in a large non-clinical sample of 1,116 adolescents aged 11–19 years. Self-harm and depressive symptoms were assessed using self-report instruments, and statistical analyses included correlational procedures, group comparisons, one-sample t-tests against Slovak and Czech normative data, and (hierarchical) linear regression models testing predictive and moderating effects. Results indicated a statistically significant and moderately strong positive association between depressive symptoms and self-harm. Adolescents engaging in self-harm reported substantially higher levels of depressive symptoms than both non-self-harming peers and normative samples, with clinically significant levels observed in a considerable proportion of self-harming individuals. Depressive symptoms accounted for a substantial proportion of variance in self-harming behavior. Although gender demonstrated a statistically significant moderating effect, its practical magnitude was minimal, and age group did not significantly moderate the relationship. These findings underscore the central role of depressive symptomatology in adolescent self-harm and highlight the importance of early identification and targeted interventions focused on emotion regulation and depressive symptom reduction. Longitudinal and methodologically diversified research is required to clarify causal mechanisms and developmental trajectories underlying this association.

Keywords: Self-Harm; Depressive Symptoms; Adolescence, Emotion Regulation; Gender Differences