Objective To explore the incidence, characteristics, and influencing factors of non-suicidal self-injury behavior (NSSI) in adolescent patients with mental disorders in Wenzhou City, and to provide a basis for proposing effective preventive intervention strategies.

Methods A total of 500 adolescent patients with mental disorders admitted to the Seventh People’s Hospital of Wenzhou City from June 2022 to June 2023 were selected as the research subjects. Based on the definitions in the Third Edition of the Chinese Classification Scheme and Diagnostic Standards for Mental Disorders (CCMD-3), whether the patients had experienced NSSI within the past year was evaluated. Patients were divided into two groups based on the presence of NSSI: the occurrence group and the non-occurrence group. A logistic regression model was used to analyze the influencing factors of NSSI in adolescent patients with mental disorders.

Results Among the 500 adolescent patients with mental disorders, the incidence of NSSI was 39.40%. Among the adolescent patients with mental disorders who experienced NSSI, the main areas of self-injury were the forearm and wrist, hand, accounting for 36.54% and 23.86%, respectively. The main methods of self-injury were cutting and collision, accounting for 50.25% and 29.44%, respectively. Childhood family dysfunction, academic pressure, childhood abuse experiences, campus violence, mother’s education level, and Loneliness Scale (LRS) scores were related factors for the occurrence of NSSI in adolescent patients with mental disorders, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that having a mother with a junior college education or above, experiencing campus violence, childhood abuse experiences, childhood family dysfunction, high academic pressure and an LRS score >11 points were risk factors for NSSI in adolescent patients with mental disorders (all P<0.05).

Conclusion The occurrence of NSSI in adolescent patients with mental disorders is closely related to factors such as having a mother with a junior college education or above, high academic pressure, exposure to campus violence, childhood abuse experiences, childhood family dysfunction, and an LRS score >11 points.