A 20-Year Review of Trends in Deliberate Self-Harm in a British Town, 1981-2000

Patients presenting at the accident & emergency department at Kidderminster General Hospital following an act of deliberate self-harm between 1981-2000 were assessed by the Parasuicide Counselling Group. The 20-year study examined 4,474 episodes of deliberate self-harm. Rates were higher in females throughout, although the differences between genders narrowed in the second half of the 1990s. Rates were highest in those aged 15-24. There were marked increases in the use of alcohol at the time of injury & repetition of deliberate self-harm. Psychiatric involvement or admission increased in the 1990s compared to the 1980s. (30 refs.)