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OBJECTIVE: To compare motives and premeditation between adolescent deliberate self-poisoners and self-cutters. METHOD: In a sample of 6,020 pupils aged 15 and 16 years who completed a self-report questionnaire, those who had deliberately cut themselves in the previous year (n = 220) were compared with those who had taken overdoses (n = 86). RESULTS: More adolescents who took overdoses than those who cut themselves said that they had wanted to die (66.7% versus 40.2%, chi2 = 14.94, p <.0001) and had wanted to find out if someone loved them (41.2% versus 27.8%, chi2 = 4.14, p =.042). Female self-cutters were more likely than male self-cutters to say that they had wanted to punish themselves (51.0% versus 25.0%, chi2 = 9.25, p =.002) and had tried to get relief from a terrible state of mind (77.2% versus 60.9%, chi2 = 4.78, p =.029). More self-cutters than self-poisoners had thought about the act of self-harm for less than an hour beforehand (50.9% versus 36.1%, chi2 = 5.25, p =.021). CONCLUSIONS: There are differences between adolescents' motives for overdoses and for self-cutting, and also gender differences in the reasons for self-cutting. The often impulsive nature of these acts (especially self-cutting) means that prevention should focus on encouraging alternative methods of managing distress, problem-solving, and help-seeking before thoughts of self-harm develop.

Original publication

DOI

10.1097/00004583-200401000-00017

Type

Journal article

Journal

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry

Publication Date

01/2004

Volume

43

Pages

80 - 87

Keywords

Adolescent, Drug Overdose, England, Female, Humans, Impulsive Behavior, Male, Motivation, Psychology, Adolescent, Residence Characteristics, Risk Factors, Self-Injurious Behavior, Sex Factors, Suicide, Attempted