Nomenclature used to describe acts of self-harm without fatal consequences varies considerably. The term 'non-suicidal self-injury' (NSSI) offers an opportunity to clarify study in this field, dichotomising the presence or absence of suicidal intent. This may improve consistency in reporting suicide and self-injurious behaviour with implications for management and prognosis.

The present study explored whether and how self-injurers attempt to resist urges to harm themselves. Participants were 39 young adults with a history of skin cutting and other non-suicidal self-injurious behaviors. A structured interview assessed the prevalence and perceived helpfulness of 48 methods for resisting self-injurious urges. Ninety percent of participants indicated that they had made...

The past decade has seen important advances in research into the epidemiology, aetiology and treatment of depression and suicidal behaviour in the young. We are beginning to understand how risk factors combine to precipitate and maintain these problems. There is rarely a linear relationship between causes and outcomes. Rather, the cause is usually a combination of predisposing constitutional fa...

BACKGROUND Suicide by adolescents and young adults is a major public health concern, and repetition of self-harm is an important risk factor for future suicide attempts. OBJECTIVE Our purpose is to explore the perspective of adolescents directly involved in suicidal acts. METHODS Qualitative study involving 16 purposively selected adolescents (sex ratio1 ∶ 1) from 3 different centers. Half ...

We would like to applaud Dr. Nock for his timely, thoughtful, and articulate piece addressing the issue of presumed causality in youth suicide. We are also encouraged to see the articles appearing in the same issue of the Journal addressing the issues of bullying and alcohol misuse, as they are good examples of the type of quality research that can take the field beyond the emotional drivers fo...

Results Thirty-nine percentof patients repeated the DSH.Theywere atgreater relative riskof suicide thanthe singleepisode DSHgroup (2.24; 95% CI1.77^ 2.84).The relative riskof suicide in the repeated DSHgroup comparedwiththe single-episode DSHgroupwasgreater in females (3.5; 95% CI1.3^2.4) thanmales (1.8; 95% CI 2.3^5.3) andwas inversely related to age (up to 54 years).Suicide risk increased fur...

OBJECTIVE There has been a recent increase in interest in antenatal depression, which is associated with adverse obstetric, neonatal and maternal outcomes and has been overlooked and underdiagnosed. Local data on prevalence and risk factors are lacking. AIM To determine the prevalence and risk factors associated with antenatal depressive symptoms in a KwaZulu-Natal population. METHODS The E...

The opinions of patients who had caused deliberate self-harm about the attitudes of doctors, nurses, families and others towards their acts were studied. Their views of the attitudes of hospital staff were found to be markedly different from attitudes reported elsewhere by staff themselves. There were no differences between the patients' views of their handling by nurses, families, and others t...