Multiple studies link family conflict to self-harm; however, no research has explored whether family conflict influences adolescents’ likelihood of engaging in a relatively new and destructive behavior known as digital self-harm, or the practice of anonymously posting harmful information about oneself online. Grounded in Agnew’s general strain theory, this study examined the relationship between family conflict and digital self-harm using a sample of 9,819 adolescents from the 2019 Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey. Logistic regression analyses revealed that, even after accounting for various potential confounding variables, family conflict was positively associated with an increased likelihood of engaging in digital self-harm. Additionally, results from an analysis of indirect effects revealed that this relationship was largely mediated by adolescents’ depressive symptoms. The study concludes with recommendations for reducing both family conflict and digital self-harm.
