A situational analysis of tendency of deliberate self harm among students

Abstract

Deliberate Self Harm (DSH) is a globally serious mental health problem among young people andis associated with multiple maladaptive psychological and social outcomes. The current study ismotivated by the relative lack of research on self-harm among adolescents. Therefore this crosssectional study is planned to find the prevalence of tendency of Deliberate Self Harm (DSH) andassociated psycho-social and demographic factors among university students. In the study 340students were participated. The semi-structured interview schedule was used to assess thepsycho-social-demographic factors in the adolescents who had a tendency of deliberately selfharm. The tendency of DSH was significantly (P =0.003) high among students of more than 24years age group (30.3% ) as compared to age group of below 20 years (14.9%) and 20-24 yearsage group (18.1%). Age, history of substance abuse and physical abuse, poor relationship withfamily member and with friends, negative optimism, anger, impulsivity and history of psychiatricillness showed significant relationship with tendency of DSH. Gender, course, family type, socioeconomic status and history of physical illness were not associated with tendency of DSH instudents.