Survey Data on NSSI, Stress Response, Emotional Regulation Strategies and gender in Chinese Undergraduates

This dataset contains cross-sectional survey data on non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) behaviors and functions, chronic stress, and emotion regulation strategies among undergraduate students from a medical university in Guangdong Province, China. The study aimed to investigate the network structure of NSSI-related psychological variables and to identify potential intervention targets using NIRA algorithm.The dataset was collected in 2025 through an online platform "Wenjuanxing". After data cleaning and exclusion of invalid responses, the final sample included 2,114 first- and second-year undergraduate students (1,249 females, 865 males; M = 18.20 years, SD = 0.69). Participants were recruited through campus announcements, and participation was voluntary and anonymous. Ethical approval was granted by the Biomedical Ethics Committee of Southern Medical University.Data Preprocessing Notes:Participants with excessively fast response times (i.e., less than 2 seconds per item on average) have been removed from this dataset. Crucially, this is raw-level data prior to the final analytic steps:Reverse-scored items, such as those in the cognitive reappraisal subscale, have not been recoded.Continuous variables have not been dichotomized for the Ising model estimation.Data Collection and Measures1. Chronic StressChronic stress was assessed using the Stress Response Questionnaire developed by Zhong Xia et al. (2005).Items: 28Scale: 1 (definitely no) – 5 (definitely yes)Interpretation: Higher scores indicate greater stress responses.2. Emotion Regulation StrategiesEmotion regulation was measured with the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) (Gross & John, 2003; Wang Li et al., 2007 Chinese adaptation).Items: 10Scale: 1 (completely disagree) – 7 (completely agree)Subscales:Cognitive reappraisal (items 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10; reversed for analysis to indicate poorer ability)Expressive suppression (items 2, 4, 6, 9)3. NSSI Behaviors and FunctionsNSSI was measured using the Chinese version of the Functional Assessment of Self-Mutilation (FASM) (Wan Yuhui et al., 2018).Behavioral sub-questionnaire (AFASM1-12) : Assesses NSSI with or without visible tissue damageFunctional sub-questionnaire (BFASM1-19): Measures three function typesAutomatic negative reinforcement: refers to engaging in NSSI to relieve or escape from an unpleasant internal stateSocial positive reinforcement: refers to engaging in NSSI to create a favorable state or to fulfill social needsEmotional expression:refers to engaging in NSSI as a means of expressing one’s emotional experiencesScale: 5-point Likert scale4.GenderIn this study, males were coded as “1” and females as “2”.Usage NotesEach row represents one participant; columns include both item‑level and aggregated subscale scores.Recommended software: R (packages tidyverse, networktools, devtools, qgraph/bootnet and nodeIdentifyR)Considering the simulated generation process of the NIRA algorithm and the randomness of bootstrapping in the Bootnet package, slight variations may occur in the changes of total scores after each silico intervention.