| Background Non?suicidal self?injury (NSSI) behavior is highly prevalent during adolescence. Previous studies have mainly focused on the relationship between NSSI behavior and emotional regulation, pain perception, reward mechanisms, and impulsivity. However, the cognitive mechanisms underlying the occurrence and maintenance of NSSI behavior have not been sufficiently explored. Adolescence is a critical period for the development of cognitive control. However, it remains unclear whether adolescents with depressive disorder accompanied by NSSI behavior have abnormal cognitive control. Objective To reveal the potential deficits in cognitive control among adolescents with depressive disorder accompanied by NSSI behavior. Methods This study was a case?control study including 166 adolescent patients who visited the Third People''s Hospital of Lanzhou from November 2024 to May 2025 and met the diagnostic criteria for depressive disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM?5). According to whether they had NSSI behavior or not, patients were divided into the NSSI group (n=86) and the non?NSSI group (n=80). At the same time, healthy adolescents who passed mental health screenings in five public middle schools in the northwest region were selected as the control group (n=71). All participants completed the color?word Stroop task, and the accuracy rates and reaction time in congruent and incongruent conditions of each group were recorded, and the interference effect based on accuracy rates and reaction time was calculated. Results In terms of accuracy rate, the main effect of trial type was statistically significant (F=46.900, P<0.01, ηp2=0.160), and the interaction effect between group and trial type was also statistically significant (F=3.390, P=0.035, ηp2=0.028). In terms of reaction time, the main effect of trial type was statistically significant (F=72.020, P<0.01, ηp2=0.240), and the interaction effect between group and trial type was also statistically significant (F=6.400, P=0.002, ηp2=0.050). Simple effect analysis revealed that under both congruent and incongruent conditions, the reaction time of the NSSI group was longer than those of the non?NSSI group and the control group, and the reaction time of the non?NSSI group was also longer than that of the control group (P<0.01). There were statistically significant differences in the interference effects among three groups based on reaction time (H=10.231, P=0.006). The interference effect in the NSSI group was higher than that in the control group(Z=3.012, Padj=0.008) and the non?NSSI group (Z=2.453, Padj=0.043). There was no statistically significant difference in the interference effect among the three groups based on accuracy rate (H=5.666, P=0.059). Conclusion Adolescents with depressive disorder accompanied by NSSI behavior exhibit cognitive control deficits beyond depressive symptoms, particularly showing impaired conflict suppression ability. |