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The truth about self-harm for young people and their friends and families
- Author:
- MENTAL HEALTH FOUNDATION
- Publisher:
- Mental Health Foundation
- Publication year:
- 2016
- Pagination:
- 35
- Place of publication:
- London
This booklet provides accessible information and advice on self-harm. Self-harm describes any behaviour where someone causes harm to themselves, usually as a way to help cope with difficult or distressing thoughts and feelings. It most frequently takes the form of cutting, burning or nonlethal overdoses. However, it can also be any behaviour that causes injury – no matter how minor, or high-risk behaviours. This resource explains how to get help, the recovery process, how to keep safe, and what to do, and look out for, if worried that someone may be self-harming. (Edited publisher abstract)
No harm done: recognising and responding to self-harm. Next steps for staff working with young people
- Authors:
- YOUNGMINDS, ROYAL COLLEGE OF PSYCHIATRISTS, CHARLIE WALLER MEMORIAL TRUST
- Publisher:
- YoungMinds
- Publication year:
- 2016
- Pagination:
- 10
- Place of publication:
- London
Provides simple guidance to help professionals support young people who are self-harming. Self-harm describes any way in which a young person might harm themselves or put themselves at risk in order to cope with difficult thoughts, feelings or experiences. It affects up to 1 in 5 young people and spans the divides of gender, class, age and ethnicity. The document examines: how to recognise the self-harm warning signs; how to hold the first conversation; what to do when a young person is not ready to talk; what to do when there are concerns about a young person's immediate safety; how to provide practical support; and how to provide support within the context of a whole school approach. (Edited publisher abstract)
Vulnerabilities to deliberate self-harm among adolescents: the role of alexithymia and victimization
- Authors:
- GARISCH Jessica Anne, WILSON Marc Stewart
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 49(2), June 2010, pp.151-162.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Using a sample of 325 students aged between 16 and 23 years from a secondary school in Wellington, New Zealand, this study investigated vulnerabilities to deliberate self-harm among adolescents, specifically focusing on peer victimisation and alexithymia (described as a clinical construct referring to poor ability to identify and describe emotions, and poor interoceptive awareness), in order to better identify at-risk adolescents and their needs. The students completed self-report questionnaires about their history of deliberate self-harm and bullying, with a self-rating depression scale, and alexithymia measured using the self-report Toronto Alexithymia scale. The results showed that self-harming adolescents reported more victimisation and alexithymia symptomology than those who had never engaged in deliberate self harm. The researchers concluded that the findings suggest that stressors in the social environment such as bullying are more likely to facilitate deliberate self harm when an adolescent has poor emotion regulation and communication skills and when an individual is experiencing mood difficulties, and that the area of deliberate self-harm and emotional functioning requires extensive future research including longitudinal studies investigating the vulnerabilities created by victimisation and alexithymia.
Suicide among young people in Scotland: a report from the Scottish Suicide Information Database
- Author:
- Public Health Scotland
- Publisher:
- Public Health Scotland
- Publication year:
- 2022
- Pagination:
- 65
- Place of publication:
- Edinburgh
This report presents data on deaths from probable suicide among persons aged 5-24 years, registered with the National Records of Scotland (NRS) during the calendar years 2011 to 2020. The data reveals that a quarter (25.7%) of all deaths among 5-24-year-olds were probable suicides. This compares to 1.2% of all deaths among those aged 25 and over. The average suicide rate among 5-24-year-olds was 6.6 deaths per 100,000 people over the period 2011 to 2020. This was significantly lower than the average suicide rate of 17.5 deaths per 100,000 people among those aged 25 and over. There is a significantly increasing linear trend in suicides in 5-24-year-olds as a proportion of all suicides across the period 2011 to 2020. The suicide rate among 5-24-year-olds decreased in the first half of the 10- year period from 8.1 per 100,000 people in 2011 to a low of 4.4 per 100,000 people in 2015, before increasing to a high of 9.2 per 100,000 people in 2019. The suicide rate in the 25+ age group followed a similar pattern. Hanging, strangulation and suffocation was the most commonly used method overall, and among males in both age groups and women aged 15-24 years. The use of this method was significantly more prevalent among 5-24-year-olds (63.9% of deaths) than among people aged 25 and over (45.9% of deaths). In contrast, deaths from self-poisoning were significantly less prevalent (18.2% and 31.0%, respectively). 5-24-year-olds were significantly less likely to have had contact with a healthcare service in the period before death than people aged 25 and over. Overall, 65.6% of 5-24-year-olds had contact compared to 79.8% of those aged 25+. Across the 5-24 age group, suicide was the leading cause of death, accounting for a greater proportion of lives lost (25.7%) than accidental poisonings (14.1%) and land transport accidents (10.1%). Suicide was also the leading cause of death in the 10-14, 15-19 and 20-24 age groups, considered separately. (Edited publisher abstract)
Who can I talk to? Self-harm and seeking help among 16 year olds: changes between 2008 and 2013
- Author:
- McCANN Mark
- Publisher:
- ARK
- Publication year:
- 2014
- Pagination:
- 47
- Place of publication:
- Belfast
This briefing compares questionnaire results from the 2008 and 2013 Young Life and Times survey on self-harm and help seeking behaviour for young people in Northern Ireland, to identify any changes in young people's behaviours. The survey invites every 16-year old born in February and March of the survey year who receives Child Benefit Payments to take part. The numbers of 16 year olds responding to the survey was 941 in 2008 (23% response rate) and 1,367 in 2013 (35% response rate). Key findings include: a slight increase in the number of 16-year old's who said they self-harmed from 2008 to 2013; in both years, more females were more likely than males to say they thought about self-harm or did self-harm; a smaller percentage had talked to someone or tried to get help before self-harming; there was also a large drop in the number of young people who talked to friends before self-harming. However, the survey also found that most self-harming people do not use helplines for support. More work needs to be done to encourage young people to show young people where they can go for support. (Original abstract)
A sign that something is wrong?: young people talking about self-harm
- Author:
- CHANDLER Amy
- Publisher:
- University of Edinburgh. Centre for Research on Families and Relationships
- Publication year:
- 2014
- Pagination:
- 4
- Place of publication:
- Edinburgh
Research briefing which summarises the results of research into how self-harm was understood by a group of 122 young people, mostly aged 13-16 years. In the study 33 young people participated in 6 focus groups and a further 88 young people completed a qualitative online survey. The results look methods of self-harm reported; why people self-harm; and young people's views on self-harm as 'attention-seeking'; . The most common reasons for self harm were as a way of dealing with emotions and a way of communicating to others. There was some disagreement about the extent to which self-harm was related to mental illness and also about whether publicising self harm on the internet was for 'attention-seeking'. The research indicated that self-harm could have some positive meanings for some young people and so focusing on cessation can be counter productive. (Edited publisher abstract)
Services need to consult young on future plans
- Author:
- GHOSE Dipika
- Journal article citation:
- Young People Now, 14.06.06, 2006, p.9.
- Publisher:
- Haymarket Professional Publications Ltd
Young people with mental health problems often feel their views are ignored by health service providers. The author looks at ways to resolve the issue. The article looks specifically on a manual by YoungMinds to help local services develop a protocol for young people who self-harm and the Young People's Participation Forum at the Eating Disorders Association.
Mental ill-health at age 17 in the UK: prevalence of and inequalities in psychological distress, self-harm and attempted suicide
- Authors:
- PATALAY P., FITZSIMONS E.
- Publisher:
- University College London. Centre for Longitudinal Studies
- Publication year:
- 2020
- Pagination:
- 12
- Place of publication:
- London
This report focuses on mental ill-health at age 17, using data collected from participants in the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) in 2018-19. It presents prevalence of psychological distress, self-harm and attempted suicide. It describes important mental health inequalities across the following key socio-demographic characteristics: sex, ethnicity, sexuality and socioeconomic position. Combined with data collected from a subset of participants during the COVID-19 national lockdown in May 2020, when they were aged 19, the report also presents evidence on changes in psychological distress from ages 17 to 19. The findings show: high levels of severe mental health difficulties – the prevalence of high psychological distress is 16.1%, 12-month prevalence of self-harm is 24.1 and lifetime attempted suicide is 7.4%; stark sex differences – prevalences of mental health difficulties are consistently higher among females than males; large inequalities – females, White adolescents, sexual minorities and those from lower income households have poorer mental health across most outcomes; increased risk among sexual minority adolescents – there are stark inequalities by sexuality, with over half (55.8%) of LGB+ young people reporting self-harming in the last year and 21.7% of LGB+ young people having attempted suicide. (Edited publisher abstract)
A sequence analysis of patterns in self-harm in young people with and without experience of being looked after in care
- Authors:
- WADMAN Ruth, et al
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 56(4), 2017, pp.388-407.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Objectives: Young people in the public care system (‘looked-after’ young people) have high levels of self-harm. Design: This paper reports the first detailed study of factors leading to self-harm over time in looked-after young people in England, using sequence analyses of the Card Sort Task for Self-harm (CaTS). Methods: Young people in care (looked-after group: n = 24; 14–21 years) and young people who had never been in care (contrast group: n = 21; 13–21 years) completed the CaTS, describing sequences of factors leading to their first and most recent episodes of self-harm. Lag sequential analysis determined patterns of significant transitions between factors (thoughts, feelings, behaviours, events) leading to self-harm across 6 months. Results: Young people in care reported feeling better immediately following their first episode of self-harm. However, fearlessness of death, impulsivity, and access to means were reported most proximal to recent self-harm. Although difficult negative emotions were salient to self-harm sequences in both groups, young people with no experience of being in care reported a greater range of negative emotions and transitions between them. For the contrast group, feelings of depression and sadness were a significant starting point of the self-harm sequence 6 months prior to most recent self-harm. Conclusions: Sequences of factors leading to self-harm can change and evolve over time, so regular monitoring and assessment of each self-harm episode are needed. Support around easing and dealing with emotional distress is required. Restricting access to means to carry out potentially fatal self-harm attempts, particularly for the young persons with experience of being in care, is recommended. Practitioner points: 1) Self-harm (and factors associated with self-harm) can change and evolve over time; assessments need to reflect this; 2) Looked-after young people reported feeling better after first self-harm; fearlessness of death, access to means, and impulsivity were reported as key in recent self-harm; 3) Underlying emotional distress, particularly depression and self-hatred were important in both first and most recent self-harm; 4) Looked-after young people should undergo regular monitoring and assessment of each self-harm episode and access to potentially fatal means should be restricted. The CaTS would have clinical utility as an assessment tool; 5) Recruiting participants can be a significant challenge in studies with looked-after children and young people; 6) Future research with larger clinical samples would be valuable. (Publisher abstract)
Perceptions of family functioning in adolescents who self-harm
- Authors:
- PALMER Elizabeth, WELSH Patrick, TIFFIN Paul Alexander
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Family Therapy, 38(2), 2016, p.257–273.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This study compares the self-reported family functioning of 21 adolescents presenting at four UK medical wards with self-harming behaviour with those obtained from a sample of adolescents drawn from the local community. Adolescents hospitalised for self-harm reported that their families were more dysfunctional than healthy controls on the family perceptions scale. However, this difference was not observed when covariates such as emotional and behavioural distress were controlled for. Poor levels of agreement between adolescents and adult family members in relation to family perceptions were also observed. The findings suggest that adolescents who engage in significant self-harm perceive impairments in their family functioning. These reported impairments may be the result of concurrent emotional and behavioural distress or some form of interaction between family functioning and distress. A comprehensive family assessment to detect absolute changes and disparities in perceived family functioning may therefore help guide family interventions in this context. (Publisher abstract)