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: