More and more people in England are turning to self-harm to relieve emotional distress, a new study suggests, with rates rising dramatically among young women aged 16-24 years old.
Research published in The Lancet Psychiatry found 2% of the population self-harmed in the year 2000, rising to 6% in 2014. Between 2000 and 2007, the prevalence of self-harm was similar among men and women, but in 2014 the gap widened with 7.9% of women and girls impacted, compared to 5% of men and boys.
Prevalence increased in several groups but most notably girls and young women – in 2014, almost one in five (19.7%) 16-24 year-olds reported non-suicidal self-harm (defined as self-inflicted harm without suicidal intent), compared with 6.5% in 2000, and 11.7% in 2007.
The statistics echo previous findings from charity Addaction which found one in five teenage girls think about self-harming some or all of the time.
Mental health charity Young Minds branded the findings “alarming” and called on the government to improve access to early intervention support within communities.
Self-harm – where someone intentionally injures their body – can have lifelong implications, researchers warned, especially if behaviours are adopted as long-term coping mechanisms for dealing with emotional stress.
This new study is the first to establish trends in the prevalence of non-suicidal self-harm (NSSH) across England. Historically, studies reported a rise in the number of people presenting to hospital emergency departments after self-harming, however it was not known whether the rise reflected an increase in the prevalence of self-harm more widely.
Researchers analysed data from people aged 16-74 years old in the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Surveys, looking at the mental health of people in England.
The study analysed 7,243 people in England in 2000, 6,444 people in 2007, and 6,477 people in 2014. Overall, the lifetime prevalence of non-suicidal self-harm (NSSH) rose from 2.4% in 2000, to 3.8% in 2007 and to 6.4% in 2014.
Questions included whether participants had deliberately harmed themselves in any way without suicidal intent, how and why they had harmed themselves, and whether they had received subsequent medical attention and/or psychological support. It also took into account factors such as participants’ ethnicity, home ownership, whether they were in debt, their education and household income.
In each wave of the survey, NSSH was most prevalent in the youngest age groups and least prevalent in the oldest age groups, and did not differ significantly between ethnic groups.
“Non-suicidal self-harm is increasingly being reported as a way of coping,” said Sally McManus, the study’s lead author from the National Centre for Social Research. “We need to help people, especially young people, learn more appropriate and effective ways of dealing with emotional stress.”
Despite increases in self-harm, the study found no evidence of an uptake in treatment – the proportion of people reporting no subsequent contact with medical or psychological services after self-harming remained relatively stable between 2000, 2007 and 2014 (51.2%, 51.8%, and 59.4%, respectively).
Women and girls who had self-harmed were more likely than men and boys to have contact with medical or psychological services, as were older people aged 35-74 years old compared to those aged 16-34 years old.
The availability of services needs to be improved, especially for young people, said McManus – and Emma Thomas, chief executive of YoungMinds, agreed. She told HuffPost UK the rise in rates of self-harm, particularly among girls and young women, was “alarming” and condemned the current system, saying “it’s far too difficult for children and young people to get mental health support before they reach crisis point”.
“The government has promised extra investment, which must make a real difference to front line services – but we also need to see action so young people can get early support in their communities,” Thomas added.
Why Is Self-Harm On The Rise?
Thomas said the reasons behind self-harm can be complex, however research by the charity shows young people face a wide range of pressures which can impact on mental health.
“Difficult experiences in childhood, like growing up in poverty or experiencing abuse or neglect, can have a huge impact on mental health,” she said, “but there are also new pressures that have emerged in recent years.”
She cited an education system that places a greater emphasis on exam results, and the rise of social media which “can make problems like bullying or body image issues more intense than they were in the past”.
Professor Louis Appleby, the study’s co-author, from University of Manchester, said there is a risk that self-harm will “become normalised” for young people, and individuals who start to self-harm when young might adopt the behaviour as a long-term coping strategy.
There is a risk that non-suicidal self-harm might be associated with later suicide, Appleby added. “As young people get older, reaching age groups that already have higher suicide rates, the self-harm they have learned may become more serious and more likely to have a fatal outcome.
“Young people need health and educational services to be available, and health professionals need to discuss self-harm with young people and encourage them to find safer ways of coping.”
Jacqui Morrissey, assistant director of research and influencing for Samaritans, said: “We hope today’s reported rise in self-harm will prompt urgent action at a national and local level to ensure the best sources of support are available to those who need it. Self-harm is a sign of serious emotional distress and while the majority of people who self-harm will not go on to take their own life, it is a strong predictor for future suicide risk.
“It’s therefore vital that there is a broad public health approach, rooted in education across front line professionals and the wider community, improved mental health services and effective support on and offline.”
Useful websites and helplines:
- Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393
- Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI - this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill.)
- The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email: help@themix.org.uk
- Rethink Mental Illness offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0300 5000 927 (open Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on www.rethink.org.