The British Journal of Psychiatry (2008) 193: 140-144. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.107.045930
© 2008 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Data supplement
Right arrow Submit an eLetter
Right arrow View responses
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Related articles in BJP
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Oldershaw, A.
Right arrow Articles by Schmidt, U.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Oldershaw, A.
Right arrow Articles by Schmidt, U.

Parents’ perspectives on adolescent self-harm: qualitative study

Anna Oldershaw, MSc

King’s College London, Institute of Psychiatry, London

Clair Richards, BSc and Mima Simic, MRCPsych, MSc

Croydon Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, South London and Maudsley NHS Trust

Ulrike Schmidt, MRCPsych, PhD

King’s College London, Institute of Psychiatry, London

Correspondence: Anna Oldershaw, PO Box 059, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF UK. Email: anna.oldershaw{at}iop.kcl.ac.uk

Declaration of Interest

None. Funding detailed in Acknowledgements.

Background

Parents’ perspectives on self-harm are considered important, but have not been explored.

Aims

To gain perspective of parents of adolescents who self-harm on: (a) history of self-harm and health service provision; (b) their understanding and ability to make sense of self-harm behaviour; (c) emotional and personal impact; and (d) parent skills as carer and hope for the future.

Method

Interpretative phenomenological analysis was applied to semi-structured interviews with 12 parents of adolescents receiving treatment for self-harm in community child and adolescent mental health services.

Results

Parents commonly suspected and spotted self-harm prior to disclosure or service contact; however, communication difficulties and underestimating significance led to delays in addressing the behaviour. Parents struggled to understand and cope with self-harm.

Conclusions

Parents require advice and support from outside services to help them manage self-harming behaviour and its personal impact. This study suggests parents are early to spot signs of self-harm, indicating their key role in reaching young people in the community who remain unknown to health services.


Related articles in BJP:

From the Editor’s desk
Peter Tyrer
BJP 2008 193: 178. [Full Text]  

Highlights of this issue
Kimberlie Dean
BJP 2008 193: A6. [Full Text]  



This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Br. J. PsychiatryHome page
G. M. Cooney and J. Morris
Time to start taking an internet history?
The British Journal of Psychiatry, February 1, 2009; 194(2): 185 - 185.
[Full Text] [PDF]

eLetters:

Read all eLetters

Children and Mental Health: a minority perspective
Krishna Menon
BJP Online, 21 Aug 2008 [Full text]