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Self Harm Research Paper

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As the time goes by more and more psycologist and sociologists are concerned about the inclination of children and teenagers to harm themeselves. Self-harm which is the intentional self-poisoning or self-injury, with or without suicidal intent) in children and adolescents has been identified as a major problem in several countries. Much recent information on self-harm in young people has been based on surveys, usually in schools [3,4]. This has highlighted the extent of the problem at the community level. Most individuals who gain access to clinical care, however, have presented to hospital following-harm. However, only a minority of individuals who self-harm in the community present to hospital or any health facility . Self-harm …show more content…

Both alcohol and illicit drug use have been identified as predictors of self-harm in clinical samples (McCloud et al., 2004; Zlotnick et al., 1999). Individuals seen in an emergency department for a DSH episode who misuse alcohol are more likely to engage in DSH than those with no alcohol misuse (Haw, Hawton, Casey, Bale, & Shepherd, 2005) and those who misuse alcohol are more likely to repeat DSH following hospital presentation for a DSH episode (Haw et al., 2007). In addition, the link between acute alcohol consumption and DSH has been documented in clinical samples (Haw et al., 2005, 2001). Another reason leading to self-harming is the childhood maltreatment. Several researchers have examined the link between childhood maltreatment and DSH. Theoretically, childhood maltreatment is linked to the persistence of perceiving the self as a victim (Wekerle, Miller, Wolfe & Spindel, 2006). In this regard, DSH may constitute a form of self-victimization, which could arise from an individual acting out caregiver-to-child injury or failing to be selfprotecting and self-nurturing. One might speculate that the former would be more likely related to invasive maltreatment (e.g., physical or sexual abuse) and the latter more passive maltreatment (e.g., neglect). The extant literature suggests that maltreatment is a correlate of self-harm in both clinical and nonclinical samples. For example, Gratz (2006) found that childhood maltreatment was a significant predictor of DSH status amongst college student women and maltreatment was moderated by emotional inexpressivity and affect

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