A self-harm series and its relationship with childhood adversity among adolescents in mainland China: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundSelf-harm (SH) is an emerging problem among Chinese adolescents. The present study aimed to measure the prevalence of SH behaviours and to explore the relationship between childhood adversity and different SH subtypes among Chinese adolescents.MethodsA total of 5726 middle school students were randomly selected in three cities of Anhui province, China, using a stratified cluster sampling method. SH was categorized into five subtypes (highly lethal self-harm, less lethal self-harm with visible tissue damage, self-harm without visible tissue damage, self-harmful behaviours with latency damage and psychological self-harm). Multivariate logistic regression was used to explore the relationships between childhood adversity and different subtypes of adolescent SH.ResultsThe prevalence rates of highly lethal self-harm, less lethal self-harm with visible tissue damage, self-harm without visible tissue damage, self-harmful behaviours with latency damage and psychological self-harm were 6.1, 20.4, 32.0, 20.0 and 23.0%, respectively. Childhood sexual abuse and physical peer victimization were associated with each SH subtype with adjusted odds ratios (AORs) ranging from 1.23 to 1.76. Highly lethal self-harm was associated with childhood physical peer victimization, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and emotional neglect. The less lethal SH subtypes (i.e., less lethal self-harm with visible tissue damage, self-harm without visible tissue damage, self-harmful behaviours with latency damage and psychological self-harm) were associated with childhood peer victimization, family life stress event scores and childhood sexual abuse.ConclusionsA high prevalence of SH exists among Chinese adolescents. The association of childhood adversity with SH merits serious attention in both future research and preventive interventions.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12888-018-1607-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Gender differences in self-harm and drinking behaviors among high school students in Beijing, China

“…Self-harm was associated with drinking behaviors in both boys and girls. The Log-binomial regression demonstrated that girls in [16][17][18][19] years were at lower risk of self-harm than girls in 12-15 years while this association was weaker in boys (1.493 vs 1.128). The higher OR for self-harm was found among girls with early drinking experiences compared with boys (2.565 vs 1.863).…”

“…Within the lifecourse, self-harm is the most prevalent when it comes to puberty [9]. Globally, the prevalence of self-harm ranged from 3.1% to 15.5 % among adolescents aged between 12 to 21 years[3, 4, 10-15], while in China, the prevalence reached 27.6% and some subtypes of self-harm could be even at 32.0% [5,16]. This higher self-harm prevalence might be mainly interpreted by academic-related stress due to the competitiveness in the education system [17].…”

Family Structure and History of Childhood Trauma: Associations With Risk-Taking Behavior Among Adolescents in Swaziland

“…Furthermore, several past and present studies validate the study results that exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACE) subsequently leads to the adoption of smoking ( 41 ) and early alcohol use among adolescents ( 42 ). Also, an alarming rate of suicide attempts ( 43 ) and non-suicidal self-harm (NSSH) is attributed to early childhood trauma ( 44 ).…”

Gender differences in self-harm and drinking behaviors among middle school students in Beijing, China

“…Within the lifecourse, self-harm is more prevalent when it comes to puberty [9]. Globally, the prevalence of self-harm ranged from 3.1% to 15.5 % among adolescents aged between 12 to 21 years [1,5,[10][11][12][13][14][15], while in China, the prevalence reached 27.6% and some subtypes of self-harm could be even at 32.0% [2,16]. An 'iceberg model' is often raised to describe the situation of suicide, so is the self-harm, which is recognized as a 'hidden behavior': less than 13% of the self-harm episodes led to hospital presentation [1,7,10].…”