Assessment of deliberate self-harm in adults

Abstract

Deliberate self-harm remains a common problem in the United Kingdom, with rates in the order of 250–300 per 100 000 per year (Hawton & Fagg, 1992). Since the suicide rate in the 12 months after hospital attendance for deliberate self-harm is around 1% (Hawton & Fagg, 1988), each year approximately 2–3 per 100 000 of the population die by suicide within a year of attending hospital with a non-fatal episode of deliberate self-harm. This is about a quarter of the overall suicide rate of 11 per 100 000. There is therefore an easily definable group at risk of suicide who should be the focus of a suicide prevention strategy.