Background: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the prevalence and characteristics of deliberate self-harm in a Swedish University population. Method: A random sample of first year students at University of Kalmar was invited to participate in an Internet-based survey in the autumn of 2007. A total of 139 (53,1 %) completed the anonymous survey. Results: The results showed that 25,2 % (n=35) of the students reported having engaged in some kind of deliberate self-harm at least once, and deliberate self-harm was endorsed by 7,9 % within the past year. The most frequently procedures to self-harm were to tear, carve or pinch self, cutting skin and hitting self on purpose. 37,1 % reported that they had told no one about their self-injurious behaviors and 36,4 % significantly reported that they had no one they trusted and who they could talk to if they were concerned about something. Students with self-injurious behavior were also more likely to report a history of emotional, sexual and/or physical abuse, alcohol and drug use, cut classes and questioning their sexual orientation. Conclusions: Findings suggest that self-harm is associated with risk factors and that self-injury is not only associated with adolescence but also with adulthood. It is therefore important to continue studies in both populations.

Thesis (D.Psyc.(Clin.))--University of Wollongong, 2008. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references: leaf 70-81.

<p>Background: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the prevalence and characteristics of deliberate self-harm in a Swedish University population.</p><p>Method: A random sample of first year students at University of Kalmar was invited to participate in an Internet-based survey in the autumn of 2007. A total of 139 (53,1 %) completed the anonymous survey.</p><p>Results: The results showed that 25,2 % (n=35) of the students reported having engaged in some kind of deliberate self-harm at least once, and deliberate self-harm was endorsed by 7,9 % within the past year. The most frequently procedures to self-harm were to tear, carve or pinch self, cutting skin and hitting self on purpose. 37,1 % reported that they had told no one about their self-injurious behaviors and 36,4 % significantly reported that they had no one they trusted and who they could talk to if they were concerned about something. Students with self-injurious behavior were also more likely to report a history of emotional, sexual and/or physical abuse, alcohol and drug use, cut classes and questioning their sexual orientation.</p><p>Conclusions: Findings suggest that self-harm is associated with risk factors and that self-injury is not only associated with adolescence but also with adulthood. It is therefore important to continue studies in both populations.</p>

Studien handlar om självskadebeteende. Syftet med undersökningen var att få reda på vilka yttre faktorer som påverkade tre unga tjejer att börja skada sig själva. Forskningen på området anser att personer börjar skada sig själva pågrund av sexuella övergrepp i ung ålder, men det framgår tydligt i resultatet att sexuella övergrepp i detta fall inte påverkade tjejerna i studien. Till grund för tjejernas destruktiva beteende ligger traumatiska händelser i deras uppväxt både i lågstadieålder samt högstadieålder. Metoden som användes i studien var semistrukturerade intervjuer eftersom intervjuaren då kan rikta sin fulla uppmärksamhet mot respondenten. Resultatet är utformat på ett narrativt sätt vilket gjorde att resultatet kunde presenteras i berättelseform. I resultatet framkom vilka yttre påverkansfaktorer som påverkade tjejerna att börja skada sig, som till exempel föräldrars skilsmässa, eller plötslig död i deras nära omgivning.

The current study is motivated by the relative lack of research on the contagion of deliberate self-harm, research on self-harm among adolescents in children's homes, as well as South African research on self-harm. In this study, I explore three aspects concerning deliberate self-harm in the South African context: The perceptions of adolescents in children's homes concerning the possible contagion of self-harm; the frequency, methods, duration and severity of self-harm among adolescents in children's homes; and lastly, the motivations of adolescent self-harm in children's homes. I make use of both quantitative measures, being the Deliberate Self-Harm Inventory (DSHI) developed by Gratz (2001) and the Functional Assessment of Self-Mutilation (FASM) developed by Lloyd (1997), and qualitative measures, being the logbooks completed by participants and three semi-structured interviews conducted, to address these questions. The current study uses both the functional approach to deliberate self-harm, that classifies self-harm according to the four functions that produce and maintain such behaviour, and the environmental model that emphasises the situational influences on the contagion of deliberate self-harm. The findings of the study indicate that 10 of the 12 adolescent participants have experienced either the acquisition or episodes of co-occurrence of self-harm through contagion, both outside the children's homes and within the children's homes. The contagion of self-harm is influenced by the desensitisation and growing prevalence of self-harm, frequent observations of self-harm, close personal relationships between individuals who selfharm, and the influence of the visual media. With regard to the findings of the DSHI, the methods most commonly employed for self-harm in the study include cutting, carving words into the skin, as well as the breaking of bones; the majority of the methods had been employed by the participants within the last year; and the emotions present immediately prior to the episode of self-harm include anger, depression, sadness, frustration, anxiety and disappointment. Findings from the FASM indicate that the motivation for the majority of the adolescent participants' self-harm is 'to stop bad feelings'. Furthermore, the findings of the study indicate that psychological intervention may be available to adolescents in several situations; that the personal histories of the adolescent participants include experiences of physical, emotional and sexual abuse, parental unavailability, the observation of parental alcoholism, as well as the experience of human trafficking; and suicide attempts have been made by the participants following instances of perceived ineffectiveness of self-harm. From the findings, it is evident that the contagion of self-harm is no longer a hypothetical phenomenon. Further implications of the study include the need for continued research on the methods reported by South African individuals who engage in self-harm that are not as prevalent in other research; and the influence of the study on the development and implementation of interventions to address self-harm in children's homes. Copyright / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Psychology / unrestricted

The master thesis is focusing on the representation of suicides and self-mutilation in American production movies and television in the year 1999-2019. The thesis aims to find out, how are these phenomena shown and with whom popular culture connects them. The theoretical part is dealing with social and media construction of reality, stereotype, stigmatization, and clearing the concepts and definitions of phenomena. For better understanding this part also includes a short presentation of socially deviant behavior since examined phenomena are part of it. The analysis was made based on qualitative content analysis and completed with short quantitative analysis for sociodemographic comparison with available real data. The sample contains 23 motion pictures as are films and series. Based on them and with processes of grounded theory the coding was done, typology was made and pointed out findings with whom American production connects these phenomena and how they represent them in popular culture. Those findings are important for their relations to media construction of reality as non-experts can perceive the way it is represented for their own.

Self-injurious behaviour (SIB) is recognised as a difficult behaviour to work/deal with and Community Support Workers (CSW‟s) who work with this behaviour may not have any formal training in the field of SIB. This study was therefore aimed at assessing the needs of CSW‟s working in the field of self-injurious behaviour amongst adolescents. A qualitative approach was used, the study was of an explorative nature and the researcher made use of purposive non-probability sampling to select respondents who were willing to participate in one-on-one semi-structured interviews with the researcher. This data was then analysed by the researcher making use of Creswell‟s spiral of analysis. The data collected was sorted into themes, sub-themes and categories and interpreted according to literature. The study identified that there are specific needs amongst CSW‟s who work with adolescent SIB in the specific areas of support and education/training. / Social Work / M. Diac. (Play Therapy)

Self-injurious behaviour (SIB) is recognised as a difficult behaviour to work/deal with and Community Support Workers (CSW‟s) who work with this behaviour may not have any formal training in the field of SIB. This study was therefore aimed at assessing the needs of CSW‟s working in the field of self-injurious behaviour amongst adolescents. A qualitative approach was used, the study was of an explorative nature and the researcher made use of purposive non-probability sampling to select respondents who were willing to participate in one-on-one semi-structured interviews with the researcher. This data was then analysed by the researcher making use of Creswell‟s spiral of analysis. The data collected was sorted into themes, sub-themes and categories and interpreted according to literature. The study identified that there are specific needs amongst CSW‟s who work with adolescent SIB in the specific areas of support and education/training. / Social Work / M. Diac. (Play Therapy)

Thesis (MEdPsych)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / Bibliography / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In recent years there has been an expanse in the literature that is drawing attention to selfinjury and research studies indicate that self-injurious behaviour is prevalent in the age group of thirteen to fifteen years. Although it remains unclear, whether the increased focus on self-injury is due to a greater amount of adolescents who engage in self-injury, or whether it is due to more young people identifying themselves as self-injurers, it has now become an integral component of adolescent behaviour that teachers, parents and other significant role players have to be knowledgeable about, as the likelihood that they will encounter self-injury amongst a young adolescent population is on the increase. As research studies in this arena have been mostly of a quantitative nature and have focused predominately on psychiatric populations, there was a gap in the research to contribute to the limited qualitatively generated knowledge base on self-injury. In this study, a narrative inquiry design was used to make sense of the stories of self-injury that the participants told. Four adolescent girls between the ages of fourteen and seventeen years with no history of mental illness and who were not receiving psychiatric or psychological intervention or showed significant levels of anxiety or depressive symptoms, were selected for the study. Two interviews were conducted with each girl using the fish bowl game and the memory box making to explore their stories of self-injury. The findings of this study suggest that cutting behaviour has purpose in the lives of the girls who participated in this study. Apart from having meaning in their lives, cutting behaviour also served to fulfill various functions, depending on the kind of problem and feelings that would be experienced in that moment. These functions ranged from providing relief, to being a form of punishment, to being a temptation, to becoming a comforting habit and a way to feel alive again. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Oor die afgelope paar jaar is daar ‘n toename in die literatuur wat handel oor selfbesering en navorsingstudies dui daarop dat die voorkoms van selfbeserende gedrag veral ‘n faktor is in die ouderdomsgroep tussen dertien en vyftien jaar. Dit is egter steeds onbekend of die toenemende fokus op selfbeserende gedrag toegeskryf kan word aan ‘n toename in die voorkoms van selfbesering en of dit eerder toegeskryf kan word aan meer jong mense wat hulself identifiseer as selfbeseerders. Hoe dit ookal sy, selfbesering is tans 'n integrale komponent van adolessente gedrag en om hierdie rede is dit 'n noodsaaklikheid dat onderwysers, ouers en ander belanghebbende rolspelers kennis moet dra daaroor omdat die waarskynlikheid dat hulle sulke gedrag sal teëkom, onder 'n jong adolessente populasie, aan die toeneem is. Aangesien navorsingstudies binne hierdie veld hoofsaaklik kwantitatief van aard is, is daar 'n leemte m.b.t. navorsing wat kan bydra tot die klein hoeveelheid kwalitatiewe studies wat wel al gedoen is. In hierdie studie, is 'n narratieweondersoekontwerp gekies omdat die studie wou sin maak van die stories van selfbesering wat die deelnemers vertel het. Vier adolessente meisies tussen die ouderdom van veertien en sewentien jaar het aan die studie deelgeneem wat geen geskiedenis van geestessiekte gehad het nie en ook nie ten tyde van die ondersoek psigiatriese of sielkundige intervensie ontvang het nie. Die deelnemers moes verder ook geen betekenisvolle hoë vlakke van angs of depressie getoon het nie. Twee onderhoude is met elke deelnemer gevoer waartydens die Visbak speletjie (Fish Bowl game) en 'n Herrinneringdosie (Memory Box) gebruik is om die meisies se stories van selfbesering te ontgin. Die bevindinge van hierdie studie stel voor dat snygedrag 'n besliste funksie in die lewens van die deelnemers gehad het. Buiten die feit dat snygedrag vir hulle betekenisvol was, het snygedrag ook verskeie funksies vervul wat hoofsaaklik afgehang het van die tipe probleem en die emosies wat daarmee gepaard gegaan het. Snyfunksies het gewissel van 'n manier om verligting te kry, 'n manier om die self te straf, 'n vertroostende gewoonte en 'n manier om weer iets te kan voel.

Contexto: Pouco se sabe a respeito da prevalência e correlatos de autolesão deliberada em jovens de países em desenvolvimento. Além disso, existe uma escassez de estudos avaliando associações clínicas e com psicopatologia familiar ajustando-se para outras comorbidades, especialmente numa faixa etária mais jovem da população (dos 6 aos 14 anos). Objetivos: Nós investigamos a prevalência e as associações de autolesão deliberada em jo- vens desta faixa etária com fatores de risco demográficos (idade, gênero, status socioeconô- mico e etnicidade), clínico (diagnóstico psiquiátrico das crianças) e familiar (diagnóstico psiquiátrico materno) em um grande estudo comunitário no Brasil. Métodos: Participantes (n=2.508) e suas mães (n=2,295) da Coorte de Alto-Risco para Transtornos Psiquiátricos foram avaliados através da Development and Well Being Assess- ment (DAWBA) e Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) respectivamente. Autolesão atual (no último mês) e ao longo da vida foram estimadas, incluindo análises estratificadas por faixa etária. Regressões logísticas foram realizadas investigando o papel do diagnóstico clínico de crianças e adolescentes e da psicopatologia materna sobre as estimativas de autolesão, ajustando-se para potenciais fatores confundidores. Resultados: A prevalência de autolesão deliberada atual foi de 0,8% (0,6% para crianças e 1% para adolescentes) e ao longo da vida foi de 1,6% (1,8% e 1,5% respectivamente). Estas estimativas não variaram de acordo com a idade, sexo e etnicidade. No entanto, pertencer à classe média esteve associado a uma diminuição de 70% na probabilidade de se relatar um episódio de autolesão ao longo da vida comparando-se com a classe mais favorecida. Autolesão atual e ao longo da vida foram mais frequentes em jovens com Depressão Maior, Transtorno de Déficit de Atenção e Hiperatividade (TDAH) e Transtorno Opositor Desafiante (TOD), mesmo em modelos múltiplos ajustado para variáveis demográficas e co- ocorrência de transtornos psiquiátricos. Além disso, a presença de transtorno de ansiedade nas mães esteve fortemente associada com autolesão deliberada recente e ao longo da vida em seus descendentes. Ao estratificar-se a análise por faixa etária, esta associação tornou- se não significativa para crianças com autolesão recente e adolescentes com autolesão ao longo da vida; ao passo que, especificamente em crianças, autolesão recente foi associada com transtorno de humor materno. Conclusão: A autolesão deliberada é um problema importante em crianças e adolescen- tes. Os diagnósticos de Depressão Maior, TDAH e TOD estão consistentemente associados com este comportamento, bem como ter uma mãe com um transtorno de ansiedade. Nos- sos resultados salientam a importância de se perguntar a respeito de comportamentos suicidas em jovens com comportamentos disruptivos, independentemente da comorbidade com depressão, e também realçam a necessidade de estratégias preventivas com um en- volvimento familiar. / Background: Little is known about the prevalence and correlates of deliberate self-harm (DSH) in youngsters from low and middle-income countries. In addition, there is a shortage of studies evaluating clinical associations and family psychopathology adjusting for other comorbidities, especially in a younger age-group (from 6 to 14 years). Objectives: We investigated prevalence and associations of DSH in youngsters of that age range with demographic (age, gender, socioeconomic status and ethnicity), clinical (children psychiatric diagnosis) and familial risk factors (maternal psychiatric diagnosis) from a community-based study from Brazil. Methods: Participants (n=2,508) and their mothers (n=2,295) from the High Risk Co- hort for Psychiatric Disorders (HRC) were assessed through the Development andWell Be- ing Assessment (DAWBA) and the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) respectively. Current (last month) and lifetime DSH were estimated, including analysis stratified by age-groups. Logistic regressions were performed investigating the role of youths’ clinical diagnoses and maternal psychopathology on prevalence estimates of DSH adjusting for potential confounding factors. Results: Prevalence of current DSH was 0.8% (0.6% for children and 1% for adolescents) and life-time DSH was 1.6% (1.8% and 1.5% respectively). These estimatives did not vary with age, gender and ethnicity. However, being from middle class was associated with a 70% decrease in the odds of reporting a lifetime episode of DSH comparing to the wealthiest class. Current and life-time DSH was more frequent in youth with Major Depression, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), even in multiple models accounting for demographic variables and co- occurring psychiatric disorders. Anxiety in mothers was strongly associated with current and life-time DSH in the offspring but when stratifying by age-group this association becomes non-significant for children with current DSH and for adolescents with lifetime DSH, whereas current DSH was associated with maternal mood disorder specifically in young children. Conclusion: Diagnoses of Major Depression, ADHD and ODD are consistently associated with DSH as well as having a mother with anxiety disorder. Our results emphasize the necessity to ask about suicidal behavior in young people with disruptive behaviors, regard- less of comorbidity with depression, and also highlight the need for preventive strategies with a family component.