Self‐Injury and Domestic Violence in Young Adults During the COVID‐19 Pandemic: Trajectories, Precursors, and Correlates

Steinhoff, Annekatrin; Bechtiger, Laura; Ribeaud, Denis; Murray, Aja Louise; Hepp, Urs; Eisner, Manuel; Shanahan, Lilly

We examined the longitudinal course of, and pre‐ and during‐pandemic risk factors for, self‐injury and domestic physical violence perpetration in young adults during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Data came from a Swiss longitudinal study (N = 786, age ˜22 in 2020), with one prepandemic (2018) and four during‐pandemic assessments (2020). The prevalence of self‐injury did not change between April (during the first Swiss national lockdown) and September 2020 (postlockdown). Domestic violence perpetration increased temporarily in males. Prepandemic self‐injury was a major risk factor for during‐pandemic self‐injury. Specific living arrangements, pandemic‐related stressor accumulation, and a lack of adaptive coping strategies were associated with during‐pandemic self‐injury and domestic violence. Stressor accumulation had indirect effects on self‐injury and domestic violence through negative emotions.