ADHD, Self-Harm, and Suicide

Repost from originally published magazine/article 

 Attention Magazine Summer 2017           Download PDF 

Risk Factors and Recommendations for Parents

by Jocelyn Meza

HIGH LEVELS OF RISK-TAKING and sensation-seeking behaviors mark the critical periods of adolescence and young adulthood. In particular, self-harm and suicide are public health concerns that affect adolescents and young adults disproportionately, with suicide rates quickly rising.

Study links self-harm to heightened levels of self-hatred and childhood emotional abuse

by Emily Manis

June 25, 2022

in Mental Health

What factors contribute to someone committing self-harm? A study published in Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy attempts to answer this by exploring differences between people who have a mental illness and self-harm, people who have a mental illness but don’t self-harm, and mentally healthy individuals.

Deliberate self-harm is causing harm to oneself without a fatal outcome. Examples can include cutting oneself, ingesting substances in high doses, or even jumping from a non-lethal height. Self-injury that is not meant to be fatal is linked to future suicide attempts, and previous research on deliberate self-harm has linked it to poor emotional regulation and social communication skills. This study seeks to understand the relationships between self-harm, childhood maltreatment, and negative self-concepts.

Study author Magnus Nilsson and colleagues utilized 34 female psychiatric patients with self-harm behaviour, 31 female psychiatric patients without self-harm behaviour, and 29 controls from the community to serve as their sample for this study. To be included in the self-harm group, participants needed to have self-harmed on at least 3 occasions over 6 months at some point in the lifespan as well as at least once in the last 6 months.

Remaining part is here

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and nonsuicidal self-injury in a clinical sample of adolescents: the role of comorbidities and gender

ADHD symptoms are associated with an increased risk of NSSI in adolescents, especially in the case of girls. Our findings suggest that clinicians should routinely screen for the symptoms of ADHD and comorbidity, with a special focus on the symptoms of affective disorders and alcohol abuse/dependence psychotic symptoms to prevent NSSI.

Keywords: Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, ADHD, Non-suicidal self-injury, NSSI, Comorbidities, Gender, Clinical sample, Adolescents, Dimensional, Categorical approach

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