Adverse childhood experiences and hospital-treated self-harm
Abstract
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been implicated in a range of negative health outcomes in adulthood, including increased suicide mortality. In this study, we explored the relationship between ACEs and hospital-treated self-harm. Specifically, we investigated whether those who had a history of repeat self-harm reported more ACEs than those who had self-harmed for the first time. Patients (n = 189) admitted to two hospitals in Glasgow (UK) following first-time (n = 41) or repeated (n = 148) self-harm completed psychosocial measures. Univariate analyses revealed that those presenting with repeat self-harm reported higher depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, intent to die, and ACEs, and lower dependent attachment style. However, only ACEs, along with female gender and depressive symptoms, significantly differentiated between the repeat self-harm group and the first-time self-harm group in the multivariate model. Controlling for all other psychosocial variables, participants who reported 4+ ACEs were significantly more likely to be in the repeat self-harm group as compared to those who experienced 0–3 ACEs. This finding highlights the pernicious effect of exposure to multiple ACEs. Further research is urgently required to better understand the mechanisms that explain this relationship. Clinicians should be aware of the extent of the association between ACEs and repeat self-harm.
Citation
Cleare , S , Wetherall , K , Clark , A , Ryan , C , Kirtley , O , Smith , M & O’connor , R 2018 , ' Adverse childhood experiences and hospital-treated self-harm ' , International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health , vol. 15 , no. 6 , 1235 . https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15061235
Publication
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
1660-4601Type
Journal article
Rights
© 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Description
The study was funded by NHS Greater Glasgow and ClydeMental Health and Sexual Health Partnerships and NHS Health Scotland.Collections
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