Abstract

     Self-harm and aggression increase markedly during early adolescence. However, few studies considered these harmful behaviors simultaneously. This study employed a person-centered approach to identify profiles of adolescents who differed in their patterns of self-harm, reactive aggression, and proactive aggression, examined the stability of these patterns, and explored the effect of bullying victimization on latent profile membership and transition. A total of 2463 early adolescents (48.8% girls, Mage = ۱۳٫۹۳ ± ۰٫۵۹) participated in two waves of the study over six months. The results indicated that low symptoms profile (80.4%), moderate aggression profile (14.2%), high aggression profile (3.0%), and high self-harm profile (2.4%) were identified at time 1, and low symptoms profile (82.1%), dual-harm profile (7.6%), high aggression profile (7.7%), and high self-harm profile (2.6%) were identified at time 2. Adolescents assigned to at-risk profiles showed moderate to high transition, suggesting the developmental heterogeneity of self-harm and aggression. Moreover, adolescents high in bullying victimization were more likely to belong or transition to at-risk profiles. The findings revealed the co-occurring and transitional nature of self-harm and aggression and the transdiagnostic role of bullying victimization, which can be used to guide prevention and intervention strategies.

Introduction

     Self-harm and aggression during adolescence are important public health issues. According to a representative survey conducted in China (Wan et al., 2011), 17.0% of adolescents and young adults reported that they had harmed themselves deliberately in the past 12 months. Similarly, about 9.0% to 24.3% of Chinese children and adolescents exhibited aggressive behaviors (Han et al., 2017; Huang et al., 2017). Self-harm and aggression can have detrimental effects on adolescents’ development and mental health outcomes (Hawton et al., 2012; Hubbard et al., 2010). Most existing studies have typically focused on either self-harm or aggression, far fewer studies explored the combination of these two harmful behaviors. Indeed, relevant research has suggested that self-harm and aggression are linked (O’Donnell et al., 2015; Shafti et al., 2021). The coexistence of aggressive and self-harming behavior within the same individual has been recently termed “dual harm” (Slade, 2019). Individuals who engage in dual-harm may represent a highrisk group with unique characteristics and patterns of harmful behaviors (Shafti et al., 2021). To better understand the cooccurrent nature of self-harm and aggression, the current study employed a person-centered approach to determine profiles of co-occurring self-harm, reactive aggression, and proactive aggression, their short-term stability and change, and the role of bullying victimization on behavioral profiles and their transitions among Chinese early adolescents.

Conclusion

     The coexistence of self-harm and aggression has received increasing attention recently. However, the scientific knowledge about co-occurring types of self-harm and aggression and their developmental process among adolescents was scarce. Further, understanding the antecedents that affected the stability and transition of behavioral patterns could be a key step for prevention and early intervention. The current research employed a person-centered approach to reveal the co-occurring and transitory nature of self-harm, reactive aggression, and proactive aggression among early adolescents, while also demonstrating how bullying victimization influenced the stability and transition of these behavioral patterns. It was found that there was a small subgroup of adolescents for whom self-harm and reactive aggression co-occur. Adolescents with low levels of selfharm and aggression exhibited a stable pattern, while adolescents in at-risk subgroups showed varying degrees of transitional patterns, indicating that self-harm and aggression change dramatically during early adolescence. Moreover, adolescents high in bullying victimization were more likely to be classified in and transition toward at-risk profiles. These findings can be used to guide prevention and intervention strategies for reducing self-harm and aggression.