Self-harm is an intentional injury to one’s own body
resulting in tissue damage. Self-harm can include a wider range of self-harming
behaviours such as cutting, burning, biting oneself and ingesting toxic
substances
(Bifulco et al., 2014; Claes et al., 2015).
Around 13%-18% of adolescents in the world experience
a lifetime risk of self-harm. Self-harm becomes increasingly common between the ages of
12 and 15 years, at which stage rates among adolescent girls are higher
than boys. Over the past decade, rates of self-harm have been increasing
among adolescents (Burton, 2014; Hawton, 2012).
Recent
findings from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study showed that 22% of young people in England aged 15 have experienced
self-harming behaviour in their lives. Nearly three times as many girls as boys reported that they
had self-harmed, 11% of boys compared to 32% of girls (Brooks et al., 2015).
Most of those young people who were self-harming reported engaging in self-harm
once a month or more.
Self-harming behaviour is more often seen among young people living in one parent households and is more common in young people
from lower family affluence. Young people receiving free school meals were more
likely to report self-harming behaviour; 29% girls and 21% boys who were in
receipt of free school meals reported ever having self-harmed (Brooks et al., 2017).
Self-harm in adolescence is usually associated with
emotional distress and adolescents usually describe it as being accompanied by
negative feelings, such as self-loathing, disgust and shame. Young people who
reported ever self-harming had lower life satisfaction compared to those who
reported never having self-harmed (Brooks et al., 2017).
Adolescents who
experience self-harming behaviour in their life are more likely to be at risk
of developing mental illness in their later life; also, they are at higher risk
to be engaged in risky behaviours in late adolescence and young adulthood;
including increased likelihood of suicidal thoughts.
Recent findings showed that adolescents who have a
positive relationship and open communication with their parents, sense of belonging
and connectedness to school and the wider neighbourhood, are less likely to be
engaged in self-harming behaviour (Klemera et al., 2016). These findings suggest
that having easy and open communication with parents could be even more protective
for young people than communication with their peers. Quality parenting seems
to be very valuable for the promotion and maintenance of emotional well-being
and health during adolescence.
The school environment is strongly associated with
adolescents’ health and emotional wellbeing; recent HBSC findings showed that young
people who reported ever self-harming were less likely to trust their teachers,
feel safe, and feel like they belong in their school.
The community environment where young people live can
also have a significant impact on health and wellbeing, as according to the
HBSC England study young people with a positive perception of their
neighbourhood (including issues relating to feeling safe in their community,
having positive relationships with neighbours and having good places for young
people to go in their community) were less likely to report having self-harmed
compared with those who held negative opinions about how supportive and safe
they perceived their community to be (Brooks et al., 2017).
The protective nature of adolescents’ multiple
environments (the family, the learning environment and the wider community) can
help adolescents develop coping strategies to prevent self-harming behaviour
among adolescents.
References
Bifulco
A, Schimmenti A, Moran P et al (2014) Problem parental care and teenage
deliberate self-harm in young community adults. Bull Menninger Clin
78(2):95–114. doi: 10.1521/bumc.2014.78.2.95
Brooks
F, Magnusson J, Klemera E et al (2015) Health Behaviour in School Aged
Children, HBSC England National Report: Findings from the 2014 HBSC Study for
England. Hatfield, University of Hertfordshire. http://www.hbscengland.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/National-Report-2015.pdf
Brooks, F., Chester, K., Klemera, E., & Magnusson, J. (2017).
Intentional self-harm in adolescence: An analysis of data from the Health
Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey for England, 2014.
Burton
M (2014) Self-harm: working with vulnerable adolescents. Pract Nurs
25(5):245–251. doi: 10.12968/pnur.2014.25.5.245
Claes
L, Luyckx K, Baetens I et al (2015) Bullying and Victimization, Depressive
Mood, and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury in Adolescents: The Moderating Role of
Parental Support. J Child Fam Stud 24(11):3363–3371. doi: 10.1007/s10826-015-0138-2
Hawton
K, Saunders KEA, O’Connor RC (2012) Self-harm and suicide in adolescents. The
Lancet. 379(9834):2373–2382. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60322-5
Klemera, E., Brooks, F. M., Chester, K. L., Magnusson, J., &
Spencer, N. (2017). Self-harm in adolescence: protective health assets in the
family, school and community. International journal of public health, 62(6),
631-638.
