Oldershaw et al (pp. 140–144) conducted a qualitative study to obtain parental perspectives on adolescent self-harm. Using an interpretative phenomenological approach, they identified four key themes relating to: the process of discovery of the behaviour; making sense of the behaviour; the psychological impact of selfharm on parents; and the effect of adolescent self-harm on parenting and famil...

Two papers in the Journal this month examine factors that influence rates of suicide and suicidal behaviour, considering both individual and societal determinants. O’Reilly et al (pp. 106– 111) assessed the role of area-level factors in their 5-year followup study of the population in Northern Ireland. They found that suicide rates were higher in the more deprived areas of the country, as previ...