EXPRESSIVE WRITING THERAPY UNTUK MENUNRUNKAN TINGKAT DEPRESI PADA REMAJA YANG MELAKUKAN NON-SUICIDAL SELF-INJURY

The transition during adolescence can increase the prevalence of mental health issues, one of which is depression. Adolescents experiencing depression often exhibit behaviors related to Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI), defined as the intentional and repeated act of harming one’s own body without the intent to end one’s life. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of Expressive Writing Therapy (EWT) in reducing depression levels in adolescents with NSSI. The research design employed a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control group design, involving 10 adolescents who met the research criteria, specifically aged between 13-17 years with severe levels of depression and engaging in NSSI. The instruments used included the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) to measure depression levels and the Self-Harm Inventory (SHI) to assess NSSI behaviors. Data analysis techniques employed were the Wilcoxon test to determine the differences in pretest and posttest results within each group, and the Mann-Whitney test to examine the differences in outcomes after intervention between groups. The results indicated that EWT effectively reduced depression levels in adolescents with NSSI. Based on the analysis results, it can be concluded that the hypothesis of this study is accepted.