Teenagers `at risk from self-harm'

More than one in 10 teenagers have deliberately hurt themselves at some point and girls are four times as likely as boys to self-harm, according to new research.

The Samaritans charity commissioned the first large-scale anonymous UK survey on self-harm among schoolchildren.

It involved 6,000 pupils aged 15 and 16 in 41 schools across England and was carried out by the Centre for Suicide Research at Oxford University.

Some 13% of those who took part said they had deliberately self-harmed at some point and 7% said it was in the previous year.

The majority (64%) of those who self-harmed said they had cut themselves. Girls were nearly four times more likely to deliberately self-harm than boys.

The problem was also more common among mixed race and white pupils than those from black and Asian backgrounds.

The reasons most often given for self-harming were "to find relief from a terrible state of mind" or because they had "wanted to die".

Contrary to popular opinion, few were trying to "frighten someone" or to "get attention".

The survey also found that having friends who self-harmed increased the risk that someone would also hurt themselves.

The most common problems faced by the pupils related to schoolwork, followed by difficulties with parents or having friends who self-harmed. Those who hurt themselves were more likely to suffer anxiety, depression and have low self-esteem than others.

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