Citation

Keeley HS, Corcoran P, Sullivan C. Psychiatr. Danub. 2006; 18(Suppl 1): 49.

Affiliation

National Suicide Research Foundation, Perrott Ave, College Rd., N/A Cork, Ireland. mandhhealy@eircom.net.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Facultas Universitatis Studiorum Zagrabiensis - Danube Symposion of Psychiatry)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

16963924

Abstract

2719 Irish schoolchildren (49.8%M; 50.2%F) aged 15-17 years, who took part in the Child and Adolescent Self Harm in Europe (CASE) study, were asked additional questions on parental substance misuse. 2395 (89.6%) said neither parent had a problem with alcohol or drugs; 6.8% (183) said father only, 2.1% (57) said mother only and 1.4% (37) said that both parents were abusers. 229 (8.9%) M= 54; F= 172) met the standardised operational definition of an act of Deliberate self-harm (DSH). For the boys, the rate of DSH is 3.3% (n=38) with no parental substance abuse, rising to 11.6% (N=8) with paternal abuse only, 17.6% (N=3) with maternal abuse only and 33.3% (n=5) when both parents abuse substances. Among the girls, 11% (n=123) report DSH when neither parent abuses substances, increasing to 22.1% (n=23) with paternal substance abuse only, 44.4% (N=16) report a history of DSH with maternal substance abuse only, compared with 71.4% (n=10) where both parents have addiction problems. Similar effects are seen with regard to the risk of substance abuse for both genders, with the boys particularly affected by maternal substance abuse. This paper has serious implications for the prevention of Self-harm and substance abuse in Irish adolescents.

Language: en