A York study identifies factors that may help predict who is vulnerable

A recent York University study has revealed new insight into self-harm amongst young adults.  An alarming three out of 10 students surveyed acknowledged engaging in acts of deliberate self-harm, such as skin cutting, burning and using drugs or alcohol to excess.

The study involved a survey of 319 first-year university students. These students volunteered to answer a questionnaire that assessed their personality and personal history, and that asked whether they had ever intentionally engaged in 22 self-harm behaviours.

The Findings
While previously conducted research suggests self-harm is predominantly a female phenomenon, this study showed otherwise. Of the 94 students who indicated they had self-harmed, women were no more likely to have done so than men.

Among those who engaged in self-harm, the women surveyed (45 per cent) were more likely to report cutting their wrists, arms or other areas of the body, while men (23 per cent) were more likely to report engaging in gang activity or other forms of physical violence with the intention to harm themselves. The most frequent forms of self-harm were cutting, entering into risky situations, carving, scratching and the use of substances with the intent to self-harm.

Psychosocial Influencers

Gordon Flett

The life circumstances of the participants are relevant to the study’s findings, says Gordon Flett, Canada Research Chair in Personality & Health at York, who co-authored the study.

The average age of the participants was 19 years old and the majority (68 per cent) had just finished high school and were living with their parents (64 per cent). The sample was evenly split between Canadian-born students and those born outside of Canada.

“In many cases, these young people are throwing themselves into the student role as a way of overcompensating for some other emotional and relationship issue,” Flett says. “If they do well in university, that might get them over the hump, but if they don’t, they may be at risk for some more extreme behaviours.”

The significance
The latest clinical research suggests that self-harm may be a response to emotional pain that cannot be resolved in a more functional way. Goldstein hopes this information will begin to remove some of the secrecy often associated with self-harm.

“These findings suggest that a significant percentage of college students have engaged in an act of deliberate self-harm at some point in their lifetime,” Goldstein says. “Unfortunately, many people hide these acts or their intentions from others, which can often lead to isolation and greater suffering.”

By assessing the personality traits and personal history of the participants, the study was also able to identify factors which may help predict which students may be vulnerable to deliberately harming themselves.

“Some of these kids come from middle-class or affluent families but that’s no protection when the issue at hand is self-image,” Flett says.

About the study
Title: Personality, Child Maltreatment and Substance Use in Deliberate Self-Harm Among College Students

Co-authored by: Gordon Flett, Canada Research Chair in Personality & Health at York amd Abby Goldstein, (MA ‘00, PhD ‘05), Assistant Professor, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education

Published: Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, October 2009

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