Seeking help for non-suicidal self-injury: A social network analysis approach

Abstract

Individuals who self-injure have consistently reported less perceived social support; yet, little is actually known about the support they seek out from others specifically for non-suicidal self-injury. The goal of this study was to explore characteristics of support networks of those who self-injure. Twenty-three percent reported not seeking support for self-injury, while the remaining reported smaller social networks than typical. Most participants sought help infrequently, and when they did, found supporters to be only moderately helpful. Network characteristics were found to relate to self-injury behavior and patterns emerged regarding supporters in the networks. Implications for advocacy and education are provided.

Keywords:

• non-suicidal self-injury
• self-harm
• help seeking
• social network analysis
• outreach

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.