Longitudinal relationship between parent-child conflict and non-suicidal self-injury among Chinese vocational school students: A chain mediating model

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) has emerged as a significant mental health concern during adolescence, particularly among vulnerable populations such as Chinese secondary vocational school students. The present study examined the longitudinal association between parent–child conflict and NSSI, with a specific focus on the chain mediating roles of basic psychological need satisfaction, need frustration, and internalizing problems. A two-wave longitudinal design with a six-month interval was employed, involving 2,680 Chinese vocational school students (41.6% female; Mage = 15.71, SD = 0.74). Participants completed self-report measures assessing parent–child conflict, NSSI, basic psychological needs, and internalizing problems. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized integrated mediation model. The results indicated that parent–child conflict significantly predicted adolescents’ engagement in NSSI both directly and indirectly through disruptions in basic psychological needs and elevated internalizing problems. Notably, need frustration exhibited a stronger mediating effect than need satisfaction, underscoring its pivotal role in exacerbating internalizing symptoms and subsequent risk for NSSI. These findings highlight the importance of distinguishing between need satisfaction and need frustration when examining motivational pathways to self-injurious behavior. This study advances understanding of the motivational and emotional mechanisms linking parent–child conflict to NSSI among Chinese vocational school students, highlighting psychological need frustration and internalizing problems as key intervention targets for reducing NSSI.