Positive Psychological Group Intervention for Non-suicidal self-injury Adolescents： A Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Abstract Introduction:The effectiveness of Positive Psychological Group intervention (PPGI) in the treatment of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) remains to be explored. Objective: Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is prevalent among adolescents and associated with negative medical and psychological consequences, necessitating its treatment. However, few treatments have been developed to treat NSSI specifically or to treat the behavior among individuals without borderline personality disorder. The purpose of this study was to investigate the PPGI, a brief, behavioral intervention specifically developed to treat NSSI among adolescents, in a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT). Method: Forty adolescents meeting inclusion and exclusion criteria were randomly assigned to the treatment (PPGI; n = 20) or treatment as usual (TAU; n = 20) condition. The sample was 83.3% female, and 100% Asian. Our main results are the frequency of NSSI and the individual's positive and negative emotions. As secondary outcomes, we will assess changes in the sense of self-efficacy and growth mindset. Due to the subjectivity of scale measurement, this study will also use objective data such as functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to measure the effect of intervention. Results:After 6 weeks of intervention, the OSI score (P<0.001) and negative emotion score (P<0.001) in the PPGI group were significantly lower than those in the control group. Positive emotion scores (P<0.001), GSES (P<0.001), and GMS (P<0.001) were significantly higher than those in the control group. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) showed that brain function activity in the frontal lobe area was significantly lower than before the intervention (P<0.001). In addition, the control group also showed some effects in improving negative emotions. Conclusion: Results of this study support the further evaluation of T-PPGI in a larger RCT. Clinical Trial Registration: The trial was prospectively registered in the China Registry of Clinical Trial (https://www.chictr.org.cn/index.html; ChiCTR2400079412) and is now complete.