ObjectiveTo understand the correlation between the sleep duration and the dangerous self-injurious behaviors of junior school students in Shanghai.

MethodsBy using systematic sampling methods, 21 junior schools were randomly selected from 17 districts in Shanghai. By using simple random sampling methods, 2 classes were randomly selected from each grade of students from each of the selected junior schools. By using the Survey Questionnaire for Health-related Behaviors of Teenagers in Shanghai(junior school students'edition), questionnaire surveys were performed to investigate the sleep duration and the related dangerous self-injurious behaviors of junior school students.

ResultsA total of 6 414 students (of which male students occupied 49.1% and female students occupied 50.9%) were surveyed and the pass rate of questionnaires was 99.55%. The average age of the students surveyed was 13.28±1.84. 21.1% of the students surveyed slept less than 7 hours every day, 69.6% thereof slept 7-8 hours every day and 9.3% thereof slept 9 hours or more every day. In the past 12 months, 47.2% of the students surveyed often felt lonely, 71.3% thereof felt unhappy because of study stress or unsatisfactory school records and 9.3% thereof cancelled their daily activities for 2 weeks or more because of feeling sad and desperate. 11.7% of the students surveyed conducted self-injurious behaviors, 11.9% thereof contemplated suicide, 6.9% thereof made plans for suicide. The sleep duration of the students surveyed was negatively correlated with the rate of psychological depression related to self-injuries as well as the self-injurious behaviors thereof.

ConclusionLack of sleep is common among junior school students in Shanghai, and sleep insufficiency is correlated with self-injurious psychology and behaviors. which suggests that it is very much necessary to provide junior school students with education that improves sleep.