ONE in seven teenagers in Scotland has self-harmed, research showed yesterday, prompting calls for schools to look out for the problem among pupils.
Research by Stirling University found that 14 per cent of the 15 and 16-year-olds they questioned had self-harmed, while a further 14 per cent had seriously thought about doing so.
The study, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, found t
hat girls were at least three times more likely to report self-harm than boys.
Professor Rory O'Connor, who led the research, said several factors caused young people to self-harm.
Increased consumption of alcohol and cigarettes was associated with more self-harm in boys and girls.
"For both girls and boys, smoking, bullying, worries about sexual orientation, self-harm by family members, and anxiety were all associated with self-harm." Prof O'Connor said.
"In addition, drug use, physical abuse, serious boy/girlfriend problems, self-harm by friends and low levels of optimism were associated with self-harm in girls.
"The findings suggest a role for emotional literacy programmes in schools, and highlight the importance of promoting positive mental health among adolescents."
A total of 2,008 pupils in secondary schools in Glasgow and Stirling were asked to fill in an anonymous questionnaire asking whether they had self-harmed, such as taking an overdose of medication or other ways, like cutting. In total, 13.8 per cent admitted self-harming. The majority of these – 71 per cent – said they had done so in the last year. Girls were 3.4 times more likely to have self-harmed than boys.
The researchers found that a further 14.4 per cent of adolescents said they had seriously thought about self-harming, but had not done so.
The majority of young people said the main reason for self-harming was "to get relief from a terrible state of mind".
More than half (51.9 per cent) said they had wanted to punish themselves.
But 37.6 per cent of teenagers who had self-harmed said they had wanted to die. The researchers also found that the prevalence of self-harm they discovered was similar to that found in other studies in England – despite the suicide rate in Scotland being twice as high as that in England.
The experts said that programmes based in schools should be evaluated to see if they could help protect young people from self-harm.
"The promotion of mental health, the development of emotional literacy programmes and initiatives that focus on responding to bullying, physical abuse, sexual orientation worries and interpersonal problems, as well as managing anxiety, may offer promise," they said. "The findings could also form the basis for screening programmes to aid teachers in the identification of those at risk."
Celia Richardson, campaigns director at the Mental Health Foundation, said the new findings were "concerning".
"Self-harm is a symptom of mental and emotional distress," she said. "Sadly, due to a lack of awareness about self-harm, young people often get unhelpful responses from adults if they open up about their self-harming behaviour. Too few adults understand self-harm."
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "We are committed to ensuring there are excellent services in place to support young people."
