One in twelve teenagers self-harm

Self-harm is used by about one in 12 teenagers as a way for them to feel that their problems are instantly eased, according to latest research.

Predominantly a teenage issue, by young adulthood the vast majority have given up the practice. The issue of self-harm is much more acute among girls than boys.

Self-harm is a global health problem and one of the strongest predictors of suicide according to the study carried out by the Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London, and Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne.

Rates of self-harm appear to be rising and are most common among 15 – 24 year old women, the researchers said.

The latest research is based on a group of 1,802 young people in Australia who were followed between 1992 and 2008 and were typically about 15 years old at the start of the project. Data was collected at nine points during the 16 year period.

In the adolescent phase 8% of teenagers reported self-harming, of which more (10%) were girls than boys (6%). This is a 60% increased risk of self-harm in girls compared with boys. As the group aged, the frequency of self-harm decreased substantially, so that by the age of 29 (at the end of the study) less than 1% of participants reported doing it.

Of the 136 who self-harmed, 122 (90%) reported no further self-harm in young adulthood and only 14 (10%) reported continuing to self-harm. Of the 14 who did continue to self-harm, 13 were female and one male.

Self-cutting/burning was the commonest form of self-harm for adolescents, with other methods of self-harm including poisoning/overdose and self-battery. No single form of self-harm predominated among young adults.

During adolescence, self-harm was associated with depression and anxiety, anti-social behaviour, high-risk alcohol use, cannabis use, and cigarette smoking.

Adolescents who experienced depression or anxiety were around six times more likely to self-harm in young adulthood than adolescents free from depression and anxiety, the study found.

The authors of the report, Dr Paul Moran from King’s College and Professor George Patton from the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, concluded: “Most adolescent self-harming behaviour resolves spontaneously.

“But young people who self-harm often have mental health problems that might not resolve without treatment, as evident in the strong relation detected between adolescent anxiety and depression and an increased risk of self-harm in young adulthood. And because of the association between self-harm and suicide, we suggest that the treatment of common mental disorders during adolescence could constitute an important component of suicide prevention in young adults.”

This article was published on Thu 17 November 2011