Deliberate self-harm by under-15-year-olds: characteristics, trends and outcome.

Journal article

BACKGROUND: Relatively little information is available about the characteristics and long-term outcome of children and adolescents aged under 15 years who present to general hospitals because of deliberate self-harm (DSH). METHOD: Information was collected on 710 consecutive under-15-year-olds presenting to a general hospital in central England with DSH over a 26-year period (1978-2003). Outcome in terms of death was investigated from national statistics in 464 cases presenting during the first 20 years of the study. RESULTS: Most individuals were aged 12-14 years. In this age group the female:male ratio was 6.5:1. Nearly all (680/710, 95.8%) had taken overdoses, over half of these episodes involving paracetamol (acetaminophen). Few had a history of prior (7.7%) or current psychiatric treatment (7.7%), although a quarter (150/559, 26.8%) had a history of previous DSH. Suicidal intent was usually low. The most frequent problems were difficulties in relationships with family members (77.3%) and with friends (38.9%), and school/study problems (37.9%). The long-term risk of suicide was low, 1.1% (N = 5) having died by probable suicide after a mean follow-up period of 11 years 2 months. CONCLUSIONS: DSH in children and young adolescents is usually related to life problems, is generally of low suicidal intent, and is associated with a relatively low long-term risk of suicide.

Authors: Hawton, K; Harriss, L

• Publication status: Published
• Journal: Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines
• Volume: 49
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 441-448
• Publication date: 2008-04-01
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2007.01852.x
• EISSN: 1469-7610
• ISSN: 0021-9630
• Language: English
• Keywords: Humans; Recurrence; Suicide, Attempted; Suicide; Female; Family Conflict; Substance-Related Disorders; Risk Factors; Psychiatric Department, Hospital; Male; Violence; Socioeconomic Factors; Adolescent; Drug Overdose; Cross-Sectional Studies; Risk; England; Crime Victims; Comorbidity; Personality Assessment; Follow-Up Studies; Adult; Cause of Death; Self-Injurious Behavior; Personality Inventory; Alcoholism; Hospitals, General