Citation

Holliday R, Brennan CA, Cottrell D. Arch. Suicide Res. 2018; ePub(ePub): 1-14.

Affiliation

School of Medicine , University of Leeds, Leeds Institute of Health Sciences , Leeds , United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, International Academy of Suicide Research, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/13811118.2018.1501448

PMID

30040541

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To explore, using first-hand accounts, adolescents' understandings of why they self-harmed, what their responses to self-harm were, and how they resisted or ceased self-harm.

METHOD: Secondary analysis of video-recorded Family Therapy sessions from the Self-harm intervention: Family Therapy. Recordings of 22 participants, approximately 170 hours of footage, formed the dataset.

RESULTS: Five core themes were developed; (1) Distress can be difficult to convey (2) Self-harm and suicidal ideation; a complex relationship (3) Self-harm as a form of communication (4) Self-harm to manage emotions and (5) Moving forward.

CONCLUSION: Self-harm was a means of communicating distress as well as managing emotions. Accounts highlighted the complex interplay between self-harm and suicidal intent. Encouragingly, many participants described being able to resist self-harm.

Language: en

Keywords

Adolescents; first-hand accounts; self-harm