Self-Harmful Behaviors in a Population-Based Sample of Young Adults

A birth cohort of 472 women & 494 men aged 26 years was interviewed about a range of self-harmful behaviors & then asked about suicidal intent. Lifetime prevalence of self-harm using traditional methods of suicide was 13%, with 9% of the sample describing at least one such episode as “attempted suicide.” Other self-harmful behaviors were also common. Self-harmful behaviors were associated with high odds of reporting suicidal ideation. The implications of these findings are discussed. (15 refs)