Nurturing or Draining? The Bidirectional Reciprocal Relationship Between Social Connectedness, Self‐Compassion, and Non‐Suicidal Self‐Injury in Chinese Adolescents

INTRODUCTION: The high prevalence and widespread prevalence of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) among adolescents is increasingly impossible to ignore. Prior studies have predominantly focused on risk factors while overlooking adolescents' positive developmental resources and potential. Grounded in Positive Youth Development theory, social connectedness and self-compassion are closely associated with NSSI, yet their bidirectional relationship and underlying mechanisms remain unclear. METHODS: This study employed the Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model (RI-CLPM) to examine the dynamic interactions and gender differences among social connectedness, self-compassion, and NSSI. Participants were 4791 Chinese adolescents (mean age = 15.63 years, SD = 0.74; 51% male at T1) from 3 secondary schools who completed self-report measures across three time points (6-month intervals). RESULTS: At the between-person level, both social connectedness and self-compassion were negatively associated with NSSI, while social connectedness and self-compassion were positively associated with each other. At the within-person level, there was a reciprocal effect between social connectedness and self-compassion. Self-compassion and NSSI exhibit a delayed bidirectional predictive relationship. Moreover, self-compassion mediated the longitudinal association between social connectedness and adolescent NSSI. Notably, these relationships exhibited significant gender differences. CONCLUSIONS: The present study deepens the understanding of the relationship between social connectedness, self-compassion, and adolescent NSSI from a positive perspective, offering new insights and evidence for alleviating adolescent NSSI.