Eric Lim

Facilitating voluntary disclosures of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) has emerged as a promising approach to catalysing personal recovery and early support-seeking for people who self-injure. However, approximately half of individuals who self-injure have never disclosed their NSSI. To date, there is a lack of theoretical explanations available to conceptualise the decision to disclose NSSI. However, various anticipatory cognitions (e.g., anticipated stigma) have been implicated in the disclosure process. As such, this scoping review used Social Cognitive Theory as a theoretical framework to identify and synthesise the social cognitive factors underlying NSSI disclosures. This review considered all published and unpublished empirical studies that 1) reported on populations with a history of NSSI, 2) examined NSSI disclosures, and 3) reported on at least one social cognitive factor associated with NSSI disclosures. The review was guided by Arksey and O’Malley’s 5-step methodological framework and Joanna Briggs Institute’s guidelines for conducting scoping reviews. The findings from 40 studies support the applicability of Social Cognitive Theory in conceptualising NSSI disclosures. Specifically, factors underlying the decision to disclose often aligned with the theory’s fundamental tenets of self-efficacy, outcome expectancies, and social modelling. Across the literature, we identified cognitions that were consistently implicated as barriers or facilitators of NSSI disclosure. The findings indicate that expectancy-challenge interventions may be effective in facilitating disclosures of NSSI. Despite this, the findings of the review call for future research validating the utility of Social Cognitive Theory in the disclosure context, particularly among culturally diverse populations.

Background and aim: Research on international students conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic has persistently highlighted the vulnerabilities and challenges that they experienced when staying in the host country to continue with their studies. The findings from such research can inevitably create a negative image of international students and their ability to respond to challenges during unprecedented times. Therefore, this paper took a different stance and reported on a qualitative study that explored culturally and linguistically diverse (CaLD) international nursing students who overcame the challenges brought about by the pandemic to continue with their studies in Australia.

Method: A descriptive qualitative research design guided by the processes of constructivist grounded theory was selected to ascertain insights from participants’ experiences of studying abroad in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Results: Three themes emerged from the collected data that described the participants’ lived experiences, and they were: 1) Viewing international education as the pursuit of a better life, 2) Focusing on personal growth, and 3) Coming out of the ashes we rise.

Discussion: The findings highlight the importance of recognising the investments and sacrifices that CaLD international students and their families make in pursuit of international tertiary education. The findings also underscore the importance of acknowledging the qualities that CaLD international students have to achieve self-growth and ultimately self-efficacy as they stay in the host country during a pandemic.

Conclusion: Future research should focus on identifying strategies that are useful for CaLD international nursing students to experience personal growth and ultimately self-efficacy and continue with their studies in the host country during times of uncertainty such as a pandemic.

Objective: This scoping review aims to use Social Cognitive Theory as a theoretical framework to identify and synthesise the social-cognitive factors underlying NSSI disclosures. Background: Disclosing NSSI can catalyse one’s recovery and offer opportunities for social support and professional help-seeking. However, approximately half of people who self-injure have never disclosed their NSSI to anyone. Factors involved in the decision to disclose often align with the key tenets of Social Cognitive Theory, namely self-efficacy, disclosure expectancies, and social modelling of disclosure. Applying Social Cognitive Theory to synthesise and map the literature may offer a theoretical explanation as to how these factors work together to shape the decision to disclose experiences of NSSI. Such knowledge may identify specific and modifiable cognitions that may be targeted in future research and interventions to support people who wish to disclose their NSSI. Eligibility criteria: This review will consider all published and unpublished empirical studies that focus on populations with 1) a history of NSSI, 2) examine NSSI disclosures, and 3) report on at least one social-cognitive factor associated with NSSI disclosures. Methods: This scoping review will be guided by Arksey and O’Malley’s (2019) 5-step methodological framework and Joanna Briggs Institute’s (JBI) guidelines for conducting scoping reviews. The search will be conducted on Medline, Scopus, PyschInfo, Web of Science, ProQuest Central, and ProQuest Dissertation and Theses Database. The results will be imported to JBI SUMARI where two reviewers will independently screen the sources against the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Both reviewers will be involved in the data extraction process. Conclusion: This scoping review will synthesise the social-cognitive factors associated with NSSI disclosures. In doing so, this review will also aim to identify research gaps and inform future research to advance the understanding of NSSI disclosures.