And when they do reach out, they often find it far too difficult to get the mental health support they need." “While there is higher awareness about mental health than in the past, many young people who are suicidal or self-harming still find it hard to reach out for help until they hit crisis point. “Young people today also face a wide range of pressures such as school stress, concerns about how you look and difficult relationships with family and friends. Tom Madders, director of campaigns at YoungMinds, said: “The reasons behind self-harm can be complex, but we know from our research that difficult experiences at a young age – like growing up in poverty, experiencing neglect or dealing with a bereavement – can have a serious impact on mental health. There has been an alarming rise in the rates of self-harm in England in recent years, particularly in girls aged 16-24, in whom prevalence increased from 6% in 2000, to 20% in 2014.Įxperts suggest academic pressure and social issues such as body image and bullying may be contributing to the trend. Researchers stated that those who presented for self-harm had a long-term risk of death from accidental poisoning, particularly involving illegal drugs, and again this particularly affected boys.
The study revealed a total of 124 deaths as well as those recorded as suicide, 27 were accidental and 42 were due to other causes. Of those who presented to hospital for self-harm, 6,828 were girls and 2,345 were boys – yet the risk of suicide was greater for boys, especially those aged 16 to 18 years. " emphasise a need to identify strategies to try to prevent self-harm in children and adolescents" Suicide is the biggest killer of people aged 15 to 24 years, and rates of suicide in the UK have increased among those aged 10 to 19 since 2010. “They also underline the importance of provision of good care for children and adolescents who present to hospital following self-harm.”
Lead study author, Professor Keith Hawton, from the Centre for Suicide Research at the University of Oxford, said: “Although our findings should be interpreted with caution, due to the relatively small number of deaths by suicide that occurred during the study, they emphasise a need to identify strategies to try to prevent self-harm in children and adolescents in order to reduce future risk of suicide.