Body image as a mediator of non-suicidal self-injury in adolescents.

The current study used structural equation modeling to evaluate the fit of a theoretical model specifying body image as a mediator between negative affect and NSSI in a combined clinical and non-clinical sample of 284 adolescents. These findings provide essential preliminary evidence that body image may represent a necessary but not sufficient risk factor for NSSI in adolescents and that treatment for NSSI should consider targeting body-related pathology in addition to emotion regulation. The findings also support including body image within developing etiological models of NSSI.