Non-suicidal self-injury in Chinese college students with elevated autistic traits: Associations with anxiety, rumination and experiential avoidance

Although existing studies have proved that autistic traits (AT) may have relations to non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) behaviors, its associations with anxiety, rumination and experiential avoidance (EA) are still unclear. The current study, based on a sample of 1317 Chinese college students, explored the associations between AT, anxiety and NSSI, and the possible modulating roles of rumination and EA in these associations. The results shows that 1) a total of 334 (25.36%) students reported a history of NSSI and 30 (2.28%) students were categorized as high AT; 2) Students with high AT reported higher rates of NSSI than those with low AT (36.67% vs. 25.10%); 3) AT, anxiety, rumination and EA have positive relations with NSSI; 4) AT predicted NSSI indirectly through anxiety; 5) Rumination and EA significantly moderated the effects of AT on NSSI via anxiety. In conclusion, this study confirms the indirect effect of AT on NSSI through anxiety in Chinese college students, and further clarifies the reinforcing effects of rumination and EA on the associations between AT, anxiety and NSSI. These findings suggest that developing adaptive emotion-regulating strategies and positive coping styles might promote the prevention and treatment of NSSI behaviors among autistic individuals.