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The following is a summary of “Resilience revisited: a systematic review and synthesis of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) and its relation with resilience,” published in the May 2025 issue of BMC Psychiatry by Weedage et al. 

Resilience was identified as a critical area for further investigation in the context of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), with evolving conceptualizations from individual-focused psychological resilience to a dynamic, interactive process involving biological, psychological, social, and ecological systems.  

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to analyze the relationship between NSSI and resilience.  

They performed a systematic review by searching PubMed, PsycINFO, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Science for studies on the relationship between NSSI and resilience. The review obeyed the Preferred Reporting Items for Meta-analysis and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Additionally, the magnitude of this relationship was determined by calculating a random effects size using the meta-package of R.  

The results showed that 17 studies were included, with a total sample size of 12,273 participants (M_age = 17.56, range: 12.93–27.50, SD = 3.95; female: 59.5%) and 4,767 participants (38.8%) in the NSSI sample. The pooled analysis revealed a small to moderate relationship between resilience and NSSI, with a random effects model effect size of 0.28 (95% CI: 0.10; 0.47). Higher levels or the presence of NSSI were associated with lower levels of resilience. Most studies assessed psychological resilience. Several studies reported resilience as a moderator and mediator, with higher resilience reducing the odds of developing NSSI in response to stressful or traumatic events. A few studies reported effect sizes for resilience factors, primarily focusing on problem solving/coping and emotional reactivity.  

Investigators concluded that resilience was related to NSSI but emphasized the need for a holistic, multimodal approach to better understand resilience within the nonlinear recovery process, including perspectives from individuals with lived experience. 

Source: bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12888-025-06868-3