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Eleven Percent of Girls Report Self-Harm

In a survey of more than 6,000 15- and 16-year-old British students, researchers from the Universities of Bath and Oxford found that 11% of teenage girls and 3% of teenage boys had engaged in self-harm.

Previous estimates of self-harm had been based on the 25,000 cases presented yearly at hospitals. However, the survey showed that only 13% of the self-harming incidences reported had resulted in a hospital visit.

"The study shows that deliberate self-harm is common amongst teenagers in England, especially in girls who are four times more likely to self-harm than boys," said Dr Karen Rodham from the Department of Psychology at the University of Bath.

"Until now, most studies of deliberate self-harm in adolescents in the UK have been based on the cases that reach hospital.

"We have found that the true extent of self-harm in England is significantly wider than that."

Teens with a history of bullying, physical abuse or sexual abuse and those questioning their sexual orientation further reported a higher incidence of self-harm. Alarmingly, almost half of those who reported cutting themselves and almost one third of those who reported overdosing reported that the act was something they had contemplated doing less than an hour, leaving little time for intervention once thoughts of self-harm have been formed.