epidemiology

Last reviewed 01/2018

The number of cases of deliberate self-harm is far greater than the number of completed suicides.

In England and Wales about 200,000 cases of deliberate self-harm are admitted per year

Deliberate self-harm:

• occurs predominately in young people, aged 15 to 25
• in women more often than men
• is 15 times more common in social class V than in social class I
• is 3 times more common in overcrowded home situations
• is 19 times more common in the unemployed
• is more likely if parasuicidal behaviour is prevalent in the culture of the individual
• Britain has the highest rate in Europe, the Netherlands has the lowest

Deliberate self-harm is associated with:

• marital disharmony
• domestic crisis
• a history of a broken home in childhood
• high alcohol consumption
• epilepsy
• child abuse

Reference:

• Multicentre Study on Self Harm in England. Oxford University (Accessed 19/6/2014)