Citation

Rossow I, Ystgaard M, Hawton KE, Madge N, Hewitt A, van Heeringen CK, de Wilde EJ, De Leo D, Fekete S, Sullivan C. Psychiatr. Danub. 2006; 18(Suppl 1): 50.

Affiliation

Suicide Research and Prevention Unit, University of Oslo, Sognsvannsv 21, bygning 12, N-0320 Oslo, Norway. ingeborg.rossow@medisin.uio.no.

Copyright

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

DOI

unavailable

PMID

16963926

Abstract

Aim: To explore how different drinking patterns may affect impact of alcohol consumption on deliberate self-harm. Samples & methods: school surveys from the Child and Adolescent Self-harm in Europe (CASE) Study, comprising samples between 3,700 and 6,000 adolescents in seven countries. Self-reports on life time experience of deliberate self-harm were validated. Average weekly consumption and frequency of alcohol intoxication formed the basis for categorizing adolescents into four groups of drinking patterns: abstainers, light drinkers, moderate drinkers and heavy drinkers. Results: The distribution of drinking pattern groups varied significantly between the countries, with the Netherlands (moderate drinking pattern) and Norway (explosive drinking pattern) at the extremes. In all countries we found no significant difference in risk of deliberate self-harm between abstainers and light drinkers, whereas this risk was significantly elevated among adolescents who reported some or numerous episodes of intoxication. This latter finding persisted after controlling for a number of confounding risk factors. Conclusion: The results support the assumption that intoxication is a significant mediator of the association between alcohol consumption and deliberate self-harm in adolescents, and hence that the magnitude of the association between alcohol consumption and deliberate self-harm varies with drinking pattern across countries.

Language: en