Hurting Yourself
The July, 2007 issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine presents the results of a research project examing the relationship between self-harm behaviours and actual incidence of suicide. The purpose of the study was to determine whether self-injury acts as a coping mechanism that may occur with or lead to suicidal behaviours in individuals experiencing more stress than they can effectively handle. Using a cross-sectional data set of college-age students from two universities in the northeastern United States in the spring of 2005, a random sample of 8300 students was invited to participate in a Web-based survey. Of the respondents, only 2875 cases were usable.Demographic characteristics, history of trauma, distress, informal help-seeking, and attraction to life were also measured. The results indicated that one quarter of the sample reported self-harm behaviours, suicidality, or both; 40.3% of those reporting self-harm also report suicidality. A significant predictive relationship was found between self-harm behaviours and suicidality even when potential confounding and demographic factors were ruled out. The results indicate that young adults engaging in self-harm behaviour is an important warning sign that warrants clinical intervention.
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