Intentional self-harm – Analysis of methods and associated characteristics
Abstract
Background
Intentional Self-Harm is the term for self-injurious behaviours with or without suicidal intent that has non-fatal outcomes. It encompasses a broad range of behaviours, but is typically defined as deliberately self-initiated harm and includes behaviours such as hanging, poisoning, and cutting with and without suicide intent.
Aims
To identify different methods used for self harm
To examine the relationship between gender/ age and method chosen
Material and Methods
It is a prospective, cross-sectional study, where all cases of Intentional self-harm admitted in Dr Chandramma Dayananda Sagar Institute of Medical Education and Research during the study period was included.
Results
A total of 98 cases which fulfilled the inclusion criteria were examined. 63.27 % of them were females and 36.73 % were males. 88.78 % of them used non- violent methods. Attempted hanging was the common violent method (63.64%). Consumption of pesticide (63.31 %) was the most common non- violent method chosen followed by over dose of medication (27.59 %). Interpersonal conflict was the main reason to harm themselves in 41.83 % of the cases. Only 20 of the cases were diagnosed to have Psychiatric illness; depressive episode, emotionally unstable personality disorder and adjustment disorder were the diagnoses made.
Conclusion
Self-harm behaviour is present in both normal as well as people with psychiatric morbidity. Both set of people need support to grapple with their stress and curb impulsive…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a cross-sectional. Its evidence level is 4 of 5 (Low · observational). Observational designs can show an association but not prove cause.
Read the paper
Related studies
- The neurocircuitry of addiction: an overview
- Gender Differences in Human Brain: A Review
- Stratified medicine for mental disorders
- The neurobiology of drug addiction: cross-species insights into the dysfunction and recovery of the prefrontal cortex
- Annual Research Review: DNA methylation as a mediator in the association between risk exposure and child and adolescent psychopathology
- Schizophrenia: The new etiological synthesis
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.