Trust deficit in parent-child relationships as a factor in reduced resilience among individuals with self-harm

<jats:p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Context and relevance. &lt;/strong&gt;Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is widespread among adolescents and young adults. It serves as a means of regulating emotional tension and is also a marker of psychological distress and a predictor of suicide risk. The study is grounded in John Bowlby&amp;rsquo;s attachment theory, which posits that the quality of parent&amp;mdash;child relationships influence the development of adaptive coping strategies under stress. &lt;strong&gt;Objective&lt;/strong&gt;. To examine the role of trust within parental attachment, its association with NSSI, and how these factors relate to personal resilience. &lt;strong&gt;Hypothesis&lt;/strong&gt;. Low trust and high alienation in relationships with parents are associated with a higher risk of NSSI and lower resilience. &lt;strong&gt;Methods and materials&lt;/strong&gt;. The study included 111 participants (aged 18&amp;mdash;25 years; 90.1% female) who reported NSSI episodes within the past six months. Measures included the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (Armsden &amp;amp; Greenberg), the Self-Injury Motives Scale (N.A. Polskaya), and the Personal Resilience measure (A.A. Nesterova). Data were analysed using correlation analysis and Student&amp;rsquo;s t-test. &lt;strong&gt;Results&lt;/strong&gt;. Attachment and NSSI: Trust in mothers and fathers was negatively correlated with NSSI (r = &amp;ndash;0.338 and r = &amp;ndash;0.368, respectively; p &amp;lt; 0.01). Alienation from parents was positively associated with NSSI (r = 0.245 for mothers and r = 0.403 for fathers; p &amp;lt; 0.01). Resilience: Trust in mothers was positively correlated with emotional regulation (r = 0.329) and social competence (r = 0.419; p &amp;lt; 0.01). Alienation from parents was associated with lower resilience (r = &amp;ndash;0.422 for mothers; p &amp;lt; 0.05). Peer relationships showed no significant differences, highlighting the key role of parental attachment. &lt;strong&gt;Conclusions&lt;/strong&gt;. Trust in parents appears to be a protective factor against NSSI and is associated with higher resilience. Disruptions in parent &amp;mdash; child relationships (low trust and high alienation) are linked to an increased risk of maladaptive behavior.&lt;/p&gt;</jats:p>