Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of death and permanent disability in children and adolescents. Although cognitive and behavioural effects have now been reported for all degrees of TBI severity in children, other aspects of functioning which might be related (such as psychosocial adjustment), have been neglected. In the present study the social and behavioural effects of TBI were assessed by comparing 27 TBI children with 27 controls. TBI children demonstrated significantly lower levels of self-esteem and adaptive behaviour, and higher levels of loneliness, maladaptive behaviour and aggressive/antisocial behaviour. These findings confirm the previously demonstrated detrimental effects of TBI on children's behavioural functioning and offer new evidence for the detrimental effects of TBI on children's social functioning.

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This paper reports on a prospective study exploring risk factors specifically related to the onset of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) during adolescence. We examined cumulative incidence and predictors of onset of NSSI over 1 year among 1,973 school-based adolescents (13-19 years old; M = 14.9, SD = 0.96) from five states in Australia. Data showed cumulative incidence of 3.8 % (95 % CI [3.0-4.7 %]) over 1 year. Multiple socio-demographic and psychosocial factors were assessed using sequential logistic regression models. Onset of NSSI was associated with being female (OR = 3.47, 95 % CI [1.48-8.18]), being born outside of Australia (OR = 3.05, 95 % CI [1.10-8.47]), not identifying as religious or spiritual (OR = 1.80, 95 % CI [1.04-3.10]), increased psychological distress (OR = 1.12, 95 % CI [1.08-1.16]), poor social support from family (OR = 0.89, 95 % CI [0.83-0.95]), poor self-esteem (OR = 0.90, 95 % CI [0.83-0.98]), and poor problem-solving coping (OR = 0.90, 95 % CI [0.82-0.99]). These findings may assist to better identify young people more likely to start self-injuring and also highlight issues to provide a focus for prevention initiatives.

While researchers are beginning to reach consensus around key psychological correlates of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), comparatively less work has been done investigating the role and influence of peers. Given evidence that engagement in this behavior may be susceptible to peer influence, especially during the early stages of its course, the current study prospectively explored whether knowing a friend who self-injures is associated with the onset, severity, and subsequent engagement in NSSI. The moderating roles of adverse life events, substance use and previous suicidal behavior in this relationship also were explored. Self-report data were collected from 1,973 school-based adolescents (aged 12-18 years; 72 % female) at two time points, 1 year apart. Knowing a friend who self-injured, negative life events, psychological distress and thoughts of NSSI differentiated those who self-injured from those who did not, and also predicted the onset of NSSI within the study period. Further, adverse life events and previous thoughts of NSSI moderated the relationship between exposure to NSSI in peers and engaging in NSSI at Time 2. However, the effect of having a friend who self-injures was not related to the severity of NSSI. Having a friend who self-injures appears to be a risk factor for self-injury among youth who are experiencing high levels of distress. Implications of these findings are discussed.