A 15-year follow-up of former self-harming inpatients in child & adolescent psychiatry – a qualitative study

Figures & data

Table 1. Inpatient characteristics, self-harm and non-self-harm respectively, from Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Malmö, Sweden in 1999.

	N	Gender F/M	Age years, mean (SD)	Previous self-harm (%)	Inpatient days, mean (SD)	Divorced parents (%)	Most common ICD-10 diagnosis (%)
Groups
Self-harm	12	9/3	15.5 (1.3)	(80)* N = 10	80.7** (96.5)	(50)	Depression	(58)
							Anorexia nervosa	(25)
							PTSD	(8)
Non-self-harm	31	18/13	15.4 (2.4)	(14) N = 29	23.9 (47.9)	(64)	Depression	(29)
							Anorexia nervosa	(16)
							PTSD	(26)
Total	43	27/16	15.4 (2.4)	(31) N = 39	39.7 (68.8)	(61)	Depression	(37)
							Anorexia nervosa	(19)
							PTSD	(14)

A t test was used to analyse group differences in age. To analyse differences on previous self-harm between the groups a chi squared test was used. Differences in inpatient days were calculated with the Wilcoxon t test (mean). *p < .0001, **p = .007.

Table 2. The interviews were transcribed, and the transcripts used as data for analysis performed through the seven steps.

Stage	Action
1. Familiarisation	Read the text through and get to know it
2. Condensation	Select meaningful pieces of information relating to the aim of the study
3. Comparing	Compare the different pieces with each other
4. Categorisation	Gather similar pieces of information into relevant categories
5. Description	Find the essence of each category and describe it in writing
6. Labelling	Find suiting labels for the categories
7. Contrasting	Compare the categories similarities and differences to further clarify the unique aspects of each category

Table 3. The five categories and sixteen sub-categories found.

Categories	Sub-categories
Early experiences	Family dysfunction
	Traumatic experiences
	A need to be understood and seen
	Double-edged friendships with fellow patients
Self-harm and psychiatric symptoms	Self-cutting
	Eating disorders
	Alcohol and drug use
	Suicidal behaviour
Treatment impact	Treatment as a negative experience
	Treatment as a positive experience
Turning points	‘Had enough’
	A context of healthy expectations
	Being of value to others
Present state	Improved relationships
	A feeling of not enjoying life
	Acceptance