Skip to main content
Archives of Emergency Medicine logoLink to Archives of Emergency Medicine
. 1993 Sep;10(3):161–166. doi: 10.1136/emj.10.3.161

Repeat deliberate self-harm: a link with childhood sexual abuse?

H M Yeo 1, W W Yeo 1
PMCID: PMC1285981  PMID: 8216587

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify whether a past history of childhood sexual abuse is a risk factor for repeated Deliberate Self-Harm (DSH). The study was a 6-month prospective study of 178 patients responsible for 190 consecutive cases of DSH seen during a 3-month censoring period. Patients were identified by review of the in-patient and accident and emergency (A&E) records of all cases of DSH at the A&E department of a major teaching hospital. Patients with a history of childhood sexual abuse showed a marked clustering of four major risk factors for repeat DSH (unemployment, past deliberate self-poisoning, self-injury and psychiatric illness) and were significantly more likely to repeat DSH within the 6-month follow-up period.

Full text

PDF
161

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Adams R. H. An accident and emergency department's view of self-poisoning: a retrospective study from the United Norwich Hospitals 1978-1982. Hum Toxicol. 1986 Jan;5(1):5–10. doi: 10.1177/096032718600500102. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Arnold R. P., Rogers D., Cook D. A. Medical problems of adults who were sexually abused in childhood. BMJ. 1990 Mar 17;300(6726):705–708. doi: 10.1136/bmj.300.6726.705. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Baker A. W., Duncan S. P. Child sexual abuse: a study of prevalence in Great Britain. Child Abuse Negl. 1985;9(4):457–467. doi: 10.1016/0145-2134(85)90054-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Greenspan G. S., Samuel S. E. Self-cutting after rape. Am J Psychiatry. 1989 Jun;146(6):789–790. doi: 10.1176/ajp.146.6.789. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Hawton K., Fagg J. Suicide, and other causes of death, following attempted suicide. Br J Psychiatry. 1988 Mar;152:359–366. doi: 10.1192/bjp.152.3.359. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Jacobson A., Koehler J. E., Jones-Brown C. The failure of routine assessment to detect histories of assault experienced by psychiatric patients. Hosp Community Psychiatry. 1987 Apr;38(4):386–389. doi: 10.1176/ps.38.4.386. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Malon D. W., Berardi D. Hypnosis with self-cutters. Am J Psychother. 1987 Oct;41(4):531–541. doi: 10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.1987.41.4.531. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Mullen P. E., Romans-Clarkson S. E., Walton V. A., Herbison G. P. Impact of sexual and physical abuse on women's mental health. Lancet. 1988 Apr 16;1(8590):841–845. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(88)91600-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Platt S. Clinical and social characteristics of male parasuicides: variation by employment status and duration of unemployment. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 1986 Jul;74(1):24–31. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1986.tb06222.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Rew L. Long-term effects of childhood sexual exploitation. Issues Ment Health Nurs. 1989;10(3-4):229–244. doi: 10.3109/01612848909140847. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Riggs S., Alario A. J., McHorney C. Health risk behaviors and attempted suicide in adolescents who report prior maltreatment. J Pediatr. 1990 May;116(5):815–821. doi: 10.1016/s0022-3476(05)82679-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Robinson A. D., Duffy J. C. A comparison of self-injury and self-poisoning from the Regional Poisoning Treatment Centre, Edinburgh. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 1989 Sep;80(3):272–279. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1989.tb01337.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Shapiro S. Self-mutilation and self-blame in incest victims. Am J Psychother. 1987 Jan;41(1):46–54. doi: 10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.1987.41.1.46. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Shearer S. L., Herbert C. A. Long-term effects of unresolved sexual trauma. Am Fam Physician. 1987 Oct;36(4):169–175. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Archives of Emergency Medicine are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES