Adolescent non-suicidal self-injury: The moderating influence of social support utilization on depression

Figure 1 Moderating effect of social support utilization on the relationship between depression severity and non-suicidal self-injury probability in adolescents. Figure 1 illustrates the interaction effect between self-rating depression scale (SDS) scores and teenager social support rating scale (TSSRS) utilization on the probability of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) among adolescents. The X-axis represents SDS scores (range: 10-50) and the Y-axis shows the probability of NSSI (range: 0%-100%). Five levels of TSSRS utilization are depicted, ranging from very low (-2 SD) to very high (+2 SD). Each curve represents the relationship between SDS scores and NSSI probability for a specific level of social support utilization. The graph demonstrates that higher levels of social support utilization are associated with a more gradual increase in NSSI probability as depression severity increases. This finding suggests a potential buffering effect of social support on the relationship between depression and NSSI in adolescents. The divergence of curves at higher SDS scores indicates that the protective effect of social support utilization may be particularly pronounced for adolescents with more severe depressive symptoms. SDS: Self-rating depression scale; TSSRS: Teenager social support rating scale; NSSI: Non-suicidal self-injury.