Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is the intentional injuring of one’s body without the intent to die (Lewis et al., 2019). Efforts are needed to understand the motivation and recovery process of NSSI (Liu et al., 2024). Recovery can be experienced differently by individuals and may be influenced by various mechanisms (Lewis & Hasking, 2021). Andersson et al. (2024) qualitatively found three themes of recovery that encompass facets of self-compassion, social support, resiliency, and mental health distress. Most studies investigating NSSI recovery utilize qualitative methods (Lewis & Hasking, 2021) and our study expands this work by quantitatively examining variables related to perceived NSSI recovery. We hypothesized that self-perceived recovered individuals would score higher in self-compassion, social support, and resiliency and lower in mental health distress and self-criticism. We also explored which of these factors would predict perceived recovery. Participants included 712 young adults from a Midwest University (Mean age = 19.55, SD = 1.46, 73.4% female, 90.8% White) recruited through email to complete an anonymous online survey of constructs related to NSSI recovery. A 3x5 ANOVA revealed significant differences between groups and Bonferroni-adjusted post-hoc tests indicated selfperceived recovered individuals scored higher than unsure and not recovered individuals on social support and resiliency, and unsure individuals scored higher than not recovered individuals, all ps < .05. Unique group differences existed in self-compassion, self-criticism, and mental health and will be discussed. Linear regression analyses identified that all variables studied were significant predictors of perceived recovery, F(8) = 12.16, p < .001, accounting for 14.1% of the variance. Results indicate the recovery process is influenced by self-perceptions and general mental health. Although qualitative research indicates individual differences at various phases of recovery, the variables quantitatively studied should be accounted for when creating a plan for NSSI recovery.
