الفهرس 
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Abstract
Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) denotes the deliberate infliction of harm upon one’s own body, with an explicit aim other than terminating one’s life. This behavior is socially stigmatized and considered socially undesirable in academic discourse. NSSI involves various methods, including scratching, cutting, pounding, biting, burning, hair pulling, and engraving. NSSI is often used as a coping mechanism to manage emotions, alleviate stress, self-inflict punishment for attention, or seek perceived benefits. Studies showed that the prevalence of NSSI during a lifetime varied from 1.5% to 54.8%. The majority of individuals who engage in self-injurious behavior typically begin during adolescence, with the average age of onset falling within the range of 13 to 17 years. A notable proportion of young adults initiate self-injurious behavior during early adulthood, specifically within the age range of 18 to 22 years. There is a substantial correlation between non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), such as parental antagonism, maternal neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse. A considerable 64.0% of individuals engaging in NSSI reported having encountered at least one type of ACE. Many people resort to NSSI as a strategy to cope with challenges in emotional regulation, using this behavior as a means to manage and navigate their emotions.
With the increasing prevalence of NSSI, it is crucial to develop more effective prevention and treatment strategies. Evaluating NSSI is essential for understanding and addressing it comprehensively.
The goal of the study was to assess the prevalence of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) among seemingly healthy young adult students, explore the methods and functions behind NSSI in those participants and to investigate the correlation between both emotional dysregulation and adverse childhood experiences with NSSI.
This study was an observational cross-sectional study. The sample was recruited from both faculty of education and faculty of medicine.
The research comprised 400 university students (31% males, 69% females) enrolled at Ain-Shams University, equally distributed between the Faculties of Medicine and Education. The participants had a mean age of 19.95 ± 1.22, predominantly residing in urban areas (86%) and overwhelmingly single (99.5%).
In the past year, 18% of participants engaged in NSSI, with 4.3% reporting repetitive NSSI. 5.25% of participants started NSSI after age 18. The mean age of onset for all participants was 13.99 ± 3.99 years.
The evaluation of NSSI methods in the participants revealed that the most prevalent method was forcefully banging oneself against hard objects (16.25%), followed by cutting and biting, each reported by 15.5% of the participants.
The analysis of NSSI functions in the participants indicates that the primary purpose is relieving negative feelings (14.25%), followed by utilizing NSSI as a form of self-punishment (11.75%).
The evaluation of NSSI motives in participants who self-injure shows that the primary motive is academic challenges, followed by feelings of guilt, difficulty facing problems, and unstable relationships.
Regarding the risk factors assessment:
The study indicates a significant association between exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and NSSI behavior. Young adults who experienced more than two categories of ACEs were more likely to engage in NSSI, with increased ACEs exposure correlating with higher NSSI frequency. The ACEs score had a small but significant correlation with NSSI behavior (r = 0.25, p < 0.001), and ACEs were identified as a predictor of NSSI (p < 0.001).
The study indicates a significant connection between emotional regulation difficulties and NSSI with higher levels of emotional regulation challenges are more prone to both initiating and recurring NSSI. A medium positive relationship (r=0.34, p<0.001) was found, with emotional regulation difficulties identified as a predictor of NSSI (p<0.001).
Regarding the comparison of characteristics of NSSI between practical (medicine) and theoretical (education) faculties:
When comparing NSSI behavior between medical and education students, most aspects were similar. The 12-month prevalence in medical students (21%) slightly exceeded that of education students (15%), but the difference was not statistically significant. However, a notable difference was found in the method of self-injury, specifically banging oneself against hard objects, which was more common among medical students.