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Low Serotonin, Fights with Mom a Deadly Combo for Girls

Sixty-four percent of teen girls who engage in self-harm share two factors in common: low levels of serotonin, a chemical associated with mood quality, and conflicts with their mothers.

This finding comes as a result of a study by University of Washington researchers on 18 adolescent girls and two boys who regularly engaged in self-harm and 19 girls and two boys who did not. Each adolescent and their mother filled out questionnaires on their mental health and self-harming behavior and questionnaires on parent-child conflict. Researchers also drew blood to test serotonin levels and recorded the parents and children discussing a conflict point for ten minutes.

Results showed that mothers reported fewer self-injury attempts by their children and greatly underestimated the number of injuries that were suicidal in nature. While largely aware of cutting incidents, mothers also underestimated other methods of self-injury such as overdosing, stabbing and burning.

Overall, researchers found that teens who self-injured had lower levels of serotonin. High levels of the chemical were found to have a protective effect against self-injury that weakened with poorer quality parent-adolescent interactions. Meanwhile, symptoms of family dysfunction including frequent arguments and a lack of closeness were associated with higher levels of self-injury.

Noting that teens who engage in self-harm are at a high risk for suicide, the report suggests improving family relationships through steps such as parental training may save lives as well as health care dollars.

FULL TEXT: Parent-child interactions, peripheral serotonin, and self-inflicted injury in adolescents. (PDF)