The British novelist Nicky Singer talks about becoming a writer, the role of editors and about who decides what can--and what cannot--be published on either side of the Atlantic. Her three novels explore territory which can make publishers nervous: "Feather Boy" (initiation rites and domestic violence), "Doll" (self-harm) and…

Describes model of crisis intervention to families of adolescents who deliberately harm themselves and summarizes premises which guide practice. Views adolescent's "overdose" as attempt to resolve relationship conflicts and works to explore predicament for adolescent and family. Verbatim extracts from one session illustrate the process.…

Acts of deliberate self-harm (DSH) by adolescents are thought to be on the increase. Many of those who self-harm are of school age and it is to be expected that schools (and their teachers) will be aware of the problem and will respond appropriately as part of their pastoral-care provision. However, a recent survey of research in pastoral care and…

The paper reports epidemiological and phenomenological investigations of aberrant eating among 347 pre-adolescent children in court-ordered foster and kinship care, in New South Wales, Australia. A quarter of children displayed clinically significant aberrant eating problems, with no evidence of gender or age effects. Two distinct patterns were…

This study investigated self-harming behaviors in 149 female adolescent victims of sexual abuse, first, by determining the rates of nine types of self-mutilating behavior at intake and nine months later and, second, by investigating comorbidity of clinical correlates associated with these behaviors. The adolescents were divided into three groups…

Patients' accounts complement psychiatric assessment of deliberate self-harm (DSH). In this study we examined psychiatric disorders, and sociocultural and cross-cultural features of DSH. SCID diagnostic interviews and a locally adapted EMIC interview were used to study 196 patients after DSH at a general hospital in Mumbai, India. Major depression…

Objective: To ascertain the association between pubertal stage and deliberate self-harm. Method: Cross-sectional survey of 12- to 15-year-olds in 300 secondary schools in the U.S. state of Washington in February-April 2002 and the Australian state of Victoria in June-August 2002. A total of 3,332 students in grades 7 and 9 provided complete data…

Rates of adolescent attempted suicide were correlated with social indicators over electoral wards of Edinburgh, Scotland. Rates were found to be higher in wards where child neglect and misbehavior were more common. Rates of attempted suicides in total population also were related to housing patterns/social class of the wards. (Author/NB)

The origin and developmental course of stereotypic and self-injurious behaviour among individuals with developmental disabilities such as intellectual disability (ID) or pervasive development disorders such as autism is not well understood. Twelve studies designed to document the prevalence, nature, or development of stereotypic and/or…

Although there is an enormous amount of literature demonstrating socio-psychological determinants of suicide and self-injurious behaviour among adults or clinical samples of children and adolescents, there is a scarcity of studies focussing on non-clinical adolescent samples. The current study examined associations between self-reported data on…

The perception of death gradually develops in a child's mind, reaching maturity at about 8 or 9 years of age. A mature death concept usually means a definition which includes the perception of death as a natural process, its finality, its irreversibility, and its universality. A study was undertaken to improve knowledge about the death concept.…

Reviews data collected by the Oxford Monitoring System for Attempted Suicide in teenagers between 1985-1995 to determine trends in acts of deliberate self-harm. Notes substantial increase in number of episodes of deliberate self-harm for both males and females. Discusses implications for hospital and counseling professionals and well as…

This paper is set against the backdrop of an increasing number of strategies and policies developed by the Department for Education and Skills in the U.K. regarding the promotion of positive mental health in schools and the recognition of the value of improving mental health in relation to children's learning, achievement, attendance and…

Compared self-poisoning patients with psychiatric patients and nonpatient controls on problem-solving skills and locus of control. The psychiatric and self-poisoning groups showed deficits on interpersonal problem solving compared with nonpatient controls. The self-poisoning group performed below or at the level of the psychiatric group. Locus of…

Objective: To describe the early adult psychopathological and social outcomes of adolescents who deliberately poisoned themselves. Method: Prospective cohort study with a 6-year follow-up of 132 of 158 (84%) adolescents who, between ages 11 and 16 years, had taken part in a randomized trial of a brief family intervention after deliberate…