Nursing Degree Paper - Adolescents That Self-Harm

Self-harm is considered a major public health issue at present (Mental Health Foundation, 2006. Cleaver, 2007). The National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) describes self-harm as ‘self-poisoning or self-injury, irrespective of the apparent purpose of the act’ (2004:16). The incidence of self-harm in young people appears to be increasing and there is a strong link between self-harm and increased risk of completed suicide (Cleaver, 2007). McDougall and Brophy (2006) produced a summary of the Mental Health Foundation publication, Truth Hurts, examining the implications for nurses and mental health professionals. They report that the incidence of self harm has risen by 30% since the 1980’s and that children are self-harming at increasingly younger ages. The only reference to parents is to state that young people sometimes self harm to ‘cope with... conflict between parents’ (2006:14) and that young people find relatives least helpful of all available support mechanisms.

Storey et al (2005) reported a rising number of young people presenting to Accident and Emergency (A&E) departments. They recruited 74 young people following such presentation though it is not specified how data was gathered from these young people. As participants were referred to as ‘interviewees’ toward the end of the report it can be presumed that interviews were undertaken, though whether these interviews were structured, semi-structured etc is not stated. The study disregarded 16 young people because they did not have a previous history of self-harm prior to the presentation at A&E and a further 20 were disregarded as their first episodes of self-harm occurred after the age of 16. The study aimed to explore the link between self-harm and social support, particularly in relation to family support. The study highlights the negative treatment of young people in ‘treatment’ services, stating that young people feel there is a lack of continuity of services and that they are not

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