NCJ Number
213523
Journal
Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Volume: 45 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2006 Pages: 337-345
Date Published
March 2006
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This study describes the early adult psychopathological and social outcomes for adolescents who deliberately poisoned themselves.
Abstract
The study found that 93 of the 132 youth (70 percent) stopped their self-harm behaviors within 3 years. Psychiatric disorders, particularly depression, were prevalent in 56 percent of the youth; self-harm in adulthood was limited to this subgroup. There was a strong link between childhood adversity, particularly childhood sexual abuse, and the risk of self-harm in adulthood. Adversity as an adult also added to the risk, particularly for those who had experienced index episodes of major depression. These associations were not mediated by childhood problem solving and hopelessness. The authors conclude that for some youth, deliberate self-poisoning in adolescence is part of a complex and continuing network of problems, characterized by high rates of psychopathology, other disorders, and high levels of psychosocial adversity. The study methodology consisted of a prospective cohort that involved a 6-year followup of 132 of 158 (84 percent) adolescents who, between the ages of 11 and 16, had participated in a randomized trial of a brief family intervention after the youth deliberately poisoned themselves. Comparisons were made with a sample of youth matched for age, gender, and childhood social class. Both groups were assessed with standard measures of psychopathology and social functioning. 5 tables, 1 figure, and 36 references