Emotional Regulation Features in Students with Auto-Aggressive Behavior

Year after year, researchers note the particular relevance of studying auto-aggression in emerging adults: self-harm is more often observed in adolescence, and its manifestations are associated with suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts in the future. At the same time, the only thing that is still known about the mechanism of formation of auto-aggression is some emotional dysregulation that precedes it. Our study is devoted to the research of the characteristics of emotional regulation associated with various forms of auto-aggressive behavior in students. The methods used in the qualitative part of the study were in-depth semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis; in the quantitative part, methods of descriptive statistics, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, internal consistency analysis using Cronbach's α calculations, correlation analysis using Pearson's r test, comparative analysis using Student's t-test, and analysis of contingency tables were used. The study sample consisted of 341 people, 59% of which were students from forty different universities in Russia. To conduct the study, an intentional model of auto-aggression was developed, and risk scales for auto-aggressive behavior and factors of auto-aggression were created and tested. Statistical analysis revealed strong positive relationships between auto-aggressive behavior and expressive suppression and neuroticism, and negative relationships with cognitive change, extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness and openness to experience. Emotional intelligence (especially understanding one’s own emotions) also has a significant negative relationship with auto-aggression. At the same time, such forms of auto-aggressive behavior as smoking, drinking alcohol, tattooing, piercing and some others had practically no connections with these parameters, which casts doubt on the existing concepts of “homogeneous”, clinically understood auto-aggression. Thus, the inclusion of intentionality in the conceptualization of auto-aggression may contribute to more effective further study of this phenomenon.