The relationship between childhood maltreatment and self-harm : the mediating roles of alexithymia, dissociation, internalizing and posttraumatic symptoms

Background: Although childhood maltreatment is associated with later self-harm, the mechanism through which it might lead to self-harm is not completely understood. The purpose of this study was to examine the roles of alexithymia, dissociation, internalizing and posttraumatic symptoms in the association between exposure to childhood maltreatment and subsequent self-harm.

Methods: A total of 360 adolescents were asked to complete the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, the Dissociative Experience Scale, the Somatoform Dissociation Questionnaire-20, the Posttraumatic Stress Checklist for DSM-5, and the Deliberate Self-Harm Inventory.

Results: Results of structural equation modelling analysis revealed the significant mediation effects of alexithymia and dissociative symptoms in the relationship between childhood maltreatment and self-harm, while internalizing and posttraumatic symptoms did not significantly mediate.

Conclusion: The findings indicate that alexithymia and dissociative symptoms may be proximal mechanisms linking maltreatment exposure and adolescence self-harm.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Self-harm can be used as a maladaptive coping strategy in response to both hyper- and hypo-arousal symptoms.
• Alexithymia and dissociative symptoms may be proximal mechanisms linking maltreatment exposure and adolescent self-harm.
• Posttraumatic symptoms did not mediate the relationship between a history of childhood maltreatment and self-harm.