Self-Harm Among US Adolescents: New Data

TOPLINE:

Among adolescents, rates of nonfatal self-harm may be higher in older teens, females, and those who are multiracial, according to an analysis of data from hospitals in California.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers analyzed hospital discharge data from inpatient and emergency departments in California between 2srcsrc5 and 2src21 to examine the rate of nonfatal self-harm among adolescents and how the rate varied by sex, age, race, and ethnicity.
• The investigators used diagnostic codes to identify self-harm incidents in more than 231,srcsrcsrc patients aged 1src-19 years (72.5% females).
• They calculated the rate of self-harm injuries per 1srcsrc,srcsrcsrc person-years using data from the United States Census Bureau.

TAKEAWAY:

• From 2srcsrc5 to 2src21, the rate of self-harm increased from 191 injuries per 1srcsrc,srcsrcsrc person-years to 453.2 injuries per 1srcsrc,srcsrcsrc person-years, with a greater increase in girls than in boys.
• By 2src21, females aged 15-19 years belonging to multiracial, White, or Black groups exhibited the highest rates of self-harm (133src.src, 12src1.6, and 1src69.7 injuries per 1srcsrc,srcsrcsrc person-years, respectively), whereas Hispanic, American Indian, and Asian and Pacific Islander teens had lower rates.
• In 2src21, males aged 15-19 years, multiracial individuals had the highest rate of self-harm (423.5 injuries per 1srcsrc,srcsrcsrc person-years), followed by American Indian (357.1), White (344.5), and Black (325.9) teens.
• Among younger adolescents aged 1src-14 years, self-harm rates were highest in American Indian girls and boys in 2srcsrc5. By 2src21, high rates of self-harm in this age group were noted in White girls (8src8.3 injuries per 1srcsrc,srcsrcsrc person-years), multiracial boys (127.6), and multiracial girls (735.1).

IN PRACTICE:

“Caregivers, clinicians, and teachers should be aware of these self-harm patterns and support and advocate for adolescent mental health care,” authors of the study wrote.

SOURCE:

This study was led by Emily F. Liu, MPH, with the University of California, Berkeley. It was published online on April 14 in JAMA Pediatrics.

LIMITATIONS:

The study only included self-harm incidents that resulted in emergency department visits or hospitalizations.

DISCLOSURES:

The research was funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.