Self-harm Matters HIT

A network which supports research, policy, advice and guidance on how best to support those who self-harm and their parents, guardians and carers, to raise awareness and develop resilience to reduce the ongoing risk of self-harm and prevent the risk of suicide for children and young people.

Experiencing mental illness in childhood affects the experience of education and ultimately future life prospects which impact lifestyle, quality of life and life expectancy.

Failure to address mental illness at an early age not only decreases resilience to stress and trauma in those individuals as adults but could also result in more immediate negative consequences such as self-harm, substance misuse, suicide, depression, Criminal Justice involvement and poor physical health.

Factors to consider include:

Deprivation: Children and young people in the lowest income bracket are 4.5 times more likely to experience severe mental health problems than those in the highest and more at risk of suicide.
Ethnicity: Some studies indicate that compared with White adult patients, Black African and Black Caribbean patients in the UK are more likely to access mental health services through the criminal justice system and less often through GP referral.
Sexual orientation: Children reporting their sexual orientation as sexual minority reported worse mental and physical health outcomes and behaviours than sexual majority peers and had higher odds of being lonely, having self-harmed, being bullied or perceiving themselves as overweight.
Gender dysphoria (GD): Several studies show people with GD have higher rates of depressive symptoms (64.5%), suicidality (42.9%), substance use disorders (40.2%), general distress (33.8%), anxiety (25.9%), discrimination, and stigma, that contribute to mental health problems.

The HIT is a network which supports research, policy, advice and guidance on how best to support those who self-harm and their parents, guardians and carers, to raise awareness and develop resilience to reduce the ongoing risk of self-harm and prevent the risk of suicide for children and young people.