Repeat Self-Harm among Children and Adolescents Referred to a Specialist Service

Abstract

Self-harming (e.g., self-cutting or self-poisoning, irrespective of suicidal intent) is common among young people. We studied 586 consecutive referrals (474 individuals) to a specialist self-harm service over five years. We found that young people who repeated self-harm, compared to those that did not, tended to have complex family and personal histories including mental illness, substance misuse, and child abuse. Although many factors are likely to interact, regression analyses revealed factors that act independently as predictors of repeat self-harm. These included being female, not having both biological parents as the main caregivers, and caregivers that appeared uncooperative. Other significant independent factors were multiple social agencies being involved, if the young person used more than one method of self-harm or abused alcohol.

Keywords:

• overdose
• suicide
• teenage
• self-cutting
• youth

Acknowledgments

This research was funded by a grant from the Association for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. The grant holders were Martin Anderson, Marie Armstrong, Amulya Nadkarni, and Sarah Armstrong. We would also like to thank Wayne Bradford and Caroline Prance of Thorneywood Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, Nottingham Healthcare NHS Trust for their help and involvement with this work.