Self-Injury found to be common in high school students

This new  research study is published in in the August 2007 issue of Psychological Medicine. Lead author is  Elizabeth Lloyd-Richardson,PhD, an assistant professor of psychiatry and human behaviour at Brown Medical School and The Miriam Hospital.She is a clinical psychologist, specializing in child and adolescent psychopathology, particularly as it realtes to medical conditions and health behaviours. 

In the study of 633 grade 9-12 teens, from the southern and mid-western United States, surprisingly  46% endorsed some form of Non-Suicidal Self Injury (NSSI). Most Frequently biting self, cutting /carving skin, hitting self on purpose, and burning skin.

The study emphasizes the distinction between minor and moderate/severe forms of self-injury. The latter being a predictor of more serious outcomes as such behaviour puts the young person at great risk, especially if they continue to struggle to find alternative ways to manage their difficult feelings. This study  documents a need to help teens better manage stress without resorting to harmful behaviours. It is important that young people who deliberately self-harm gain access to therapeutic support, as not doing so could result in them deliberately self-harming as a strategy for coping with difficult feelings in the future, which could increase their risk of causing intentional or accidental injury or death.

Psychological Medicine, Volume 37, Issue 08, August 2007, pp 1183-1192