The Longitudinal Relationship Between Family Sports Behavior Environment and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury in Middle School Students: The Mediating Role of Short Video Addiction and Depression

Imagine your mind as a bustling city. Sometimes, the traffic gets too heavy, the noise is too loud, and the stress builds up until the city feels like it might collapse. In the world of psychology, this "traffic jam" of negative feelings can sometimes lead young people to hurt themselves on purpose, not to end their lives, but just to make the emotional pain stop. This is called non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). It's a serious problem that scientists are trying to understand, looking for the "traffic lights" that could help clear the streets.

Two major concepts help us understand how this city gets built. First, there's the Family Sports Behavior Environment. Think of this not just as a gym, but as the family's shared "playground." It's about whether parents and kids run, swim, or play ball together, and whether the parents cheer them on or just watch from the sidelines. Second, there's the idea of addiction and depression as a chain reaction. Imagine a slippery slope: if a kid gets stuck scrolling through endless, fast-paced videos (short video addiction), they might start feeling worse about themselves and the world, which can lead to deep sadness (depression). This study asks a simple but powerful question: Can a family that moves and plays together act as a shield, stopping the slippery slope before it even starts?

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The Family Gym vs. The Scrolling Trap

A team of researchers decided to investigate this by following a group of 968 middle school students over six months. They wanted to see if the way families handled sports and exercise could predict whether a student would hurt themselves later on, and if "short video addiction" and "depression" were the middlemen in that story.

Think of the Family Sports Behavior Environment (FSBE) as a warm, sturdy umbrella. When parents and kids exercise together, it's like holding that umbrella up against the rain. The researchers found that when this umbrella was strong (high FSBE), the students were much less likely to get caught in the storm of self-harm. Specifically, a positive family sports environment was linked to lower levels of self-injury, both at the start of the study and six months later.

But how does the umbrella work? The study discovered it works by blocking two specific storms: Short Video Addiction (SVA) and Depression (DEP).

Here is the chain reaction the researchers mapped out:

1. The Umbrella Stops the Rain: Families that are active and supportive together have kids who are less likely to get addicted to short videos. It's like having a fun, real-life game to play makes the phone screen look less interesting.
2. The Rain Doesn't Soak the Ground: When kids aren't glued to their phones, they are less likely to feel depressed. The study suggests that the endless, fragmented information from short videos can confuse a young person's sense of self, making them feel lost or sad.
3. The Ground Stays Dry: Finally, when depression is lower, the urge to hurt oneself drops significantly.

The researchers measured this using a "chain" model. They found that the family sports environment didn't just stop self-harm directly; it also stopped it indirectly by keeping video addiction and depression in check. In fact, about 45% of the protective effect at the beginning of the study, and 41% of the effect six months later, happened through this chain: Family Sports → Less Video Addiction → Less Depression → Less Self-Harm.

The Numbers Behind the Story

The study wasn't just guessing; they ran the numbers through complex statistical software to see if the connections were real.

• At the start (Time 1), the link between a good family sports environment and less self-harm was strong. The "indirect effect" (the chain reaction) had a value of -0.191. This means that for every step up in family sports support, there was a measurable drop in the risk of self-harm, largely because the kids weren't as addicted to videos or as depressed.
• Six months later (Time 2), the chain was still holding strong. The indirect effect value was -0.129. While the number was slightly smaller than at the start, it was still a very significant result, proving that the family sports environment continues to act as a protective shield over time.

The study also looked at the specific paths. For example, the path where family sports reduce video addiction, which then reduces self-harm, accounted for about 21% of the total effect at the start. The path where family sports reduce depression directly accounted for another 19%. And the full chain—sports reducing videos, which reduces depression, which reduces self-harm—accounted for 5%. Every link in the chain was statistically significant, meaning it wasn't just a fluke.

What This Means for the Real World

The authors are careful to say that while these results are strong, they aren't a magic cure-all. They noted that their study had some limits: they only looked at students in big cities, not rural areas, and they relied on the students' own answers rather than tracking their phone usage with a device. Also, because they only checked in twice, six months apart, they can't say for sure that one thing caused the other with 100% certainty, but the evidence points very strongly in that direction.

However, the message is clear and actionable. If you want to help a middle schooler avoid the trap of self-harm, don't just tell them to "put down the phone." Instead, build a family culture where moving, playing, and exercising together is the norm. By strengthening the "umbrella" of family sports, you can help your child stay off the slippery slope of video addiction and depression, keeping their emotional city safe and sound. The study suggests that a little bit of family sweat equity can go a long way in preventing a lot of heartache.