Beyond Diagnosis: Mapping Symptom Networks Across Self-Harm Risk Profiles in Adolescents
Diğer yayınlar > Diğer · 2025
Yazarlar: Birsen ŞENTÜRK PİLAN, Tuğçe Özcan, İlayda Barankoğlu Sevin, Yiğit ÖZAYDIN, Fevzi Tuna OCAKOĞLU, Fatma Apak, Meryem Dalkilic, Tezan BİLDİK
Diğer, Uluslararası, 2025,
Özet
Objective: Adolescents presenting with non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) are a heterogeneous group, yet little is known about their underlying symptom dynamics. This study employed a novel, integrated approach to move beyond traditional diagnostic categories by: 1) identifying distinct clinical risk profiles among self-harming adolescents, and 2) modeling the core psychopathological network to pinpoint central symptoms that maintain distress. Method: A clinical sample of 286 adolescents (ages 13–18) completed psychometric scales assessing NSSI, emotion regulation, suicide probability, depression, and anxiety. We first applied cluster analysis to identify distinct subgroups based on symptom severity and profiles. Subsequently, network analysis was used to model the complex interrelations among cognitive, emotional, and behavioral symptoms. Results: Three distinct risk clusters were identified: a Low-Risk (22% NSSI history), a Moderate-Risk (54% NSSI history), and a High-Risk cluster. The High-Risk cluster was characterized by severe emotion regulation deficits, extreme hopelessness, and high rates of NSSI (82%) and suicide attempts. Across the entire sample, network analysis revealed that ”suicidal ideation,” ”hopelessness,” and ”negative self-perception” were the most central symptoms, acting as critical hubs connecting various psychopathological domains. Conclusion: Self-harm and suicide risk in adolescents are best understood not as isolated issues, but as emergent properties of a complex symptom network. Our findings demonstrate that while certain cognitive-emotional symptoms are central to the overall network, distinct risk profiles exist. This integrated, transdiagnostic framework provides a nuanced map for clinical assessment and suggests that interventions may be most effective when tailored to an adolescent’s specific risk profile by targeting structurally influential symptoms like hopelessness and negative self-perception