Non-suicidal Self-injury And Social Influence

The researcher conducted an online survey through social networking sites and online college/university communications to identify the relationship between social influence (e.g. peer acceptance, media exposure) and NSSI behaviors among undergraduate and graduate students from participating colleges and universities in the United States. Descriptive statistics and chi-square analyses were utilized to analyze the research objectives and a Pearson's correlation coefficient indicated that a positive, direct relationship was found between social influence and NSSI, but it was weak and not statistically significant (r=.20, p=.12). Implications and recommendations for future research as well as practice are discussed.