@article{ref1,
title="I just pulled myself together and realised I had to be responsible: adolescents' experiences of having a friend who self-harms",
journal="Child and youth care forum",
year="2021",
author="Hall, Sarah and Melia, Yvonne",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Self-harm usually begins during adolescence and adolescents that self-harm most commonly confide in friends, yet to date, there is little research from the friend's perspective. <br><br>OBJECTIVE: This qualitative study explores adolescents' experiences of what it is like to have a friend who self-harms by cutting and what this experience means for friendship, the wider peer group and psychological well-being. <br><br>METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted face-to-face with a community sample of eight females aged between 13 and 18 years, living in England. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to analyse the data. <br><br>RESULTS: Four superordinate themes emerged: desperately searching for meaning, I will be there at all costs, too hot to handle and identification. Adolescents were concerned about escalations in their friends' behaviours and felt a sense of duty to help, but the majority experienced a dilemma as to whether to disclose to others and all reported some form of distress. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: The results highlight the important, yet complex nature of friendship in this context. Friends play a key role in supporting adolescents who self-harm but need greater support managing this role and the effects. Schools/colleges should educate young people about self-harm to increase their knowledge and skills in relation to supporting a friend with this issue. Furthermore, they should promote environments for talking about mental health openly to give young people increased opportunities for help-seeking.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1053-1890",
doi="10.1007/s10566-021-09629-x",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10566-021-09629-x"
}