Characteristics of self-harm behavior among adolescent callers on psychological support hotlines and factors influencing medical treatment after self-harm
Li Chunling
Zhao Liting
An Jing
Tong Yongsheng
Abstract：Objective To analyze the characteristics of self-harm behavior among adolescents aged 11 to 18 on the psychological support hotline and factors influencing medical treatment after self-harm.Methods From January 1,2020 to December 31,2022,adolescents reporting history of self-harm who called the Beijing Psychological Support Hotline were selected as the research subject.The operator asked the caller about the method,cause,purpose of self-harm,and whether to seek medical advice during the last self-harm behavior before the call,and compared the self-harm behavior characteristics of adolescent callers of different genders and age groups.Logistic regression was used to analyze the factors related to seeking medical advice after self-harm.Results A total of 6 022 adolescent callers were included,of which 77.9%(4 690/6 022)were female and 53.8%(3 241/6 022)were aged 11 to 15.The most common way of self-harm was to cut with a knife,accounting for 55.3%(3 328/6 022).The top two causes of self-harm were depression and family conflicts,accounting for 32.2%(1 940/6 022)and 31.7%(1 908/6 022),respectively.Eighty-five percent(5 116/6 022)of callers had severe suicidal ideation when self-injuring,and only 25.2%(1 519/6 022)of callers sought medical advice after self-injuring.Compared with male adolescent caller,female caller had a higher proportion of self-harm caused by cutting with a knife,stronger suicidal ideation,but a lower rate of seeking medical advice after self-harm,and the differences were statistically significant(χ2=71.534,9.311,14.882;P＜0.05).The proportion of caller aged 16 to 18 taking therapeutic drugs was higher than that of caller aged 11 to 15,and the difference was statistically significant(χ2=67.485,P＜0.001).Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that males[OR=1.199,95%CI(1.022,1.406)],16 to 18 years old[OR=1.261,95%CI(1.058,1.504)],middle[OR=1.388,95%CI(1.131,1.705)]or high school[OR=1.371,95%CI(1.056,1.780)]education,taking therapeutic drugs[OR=3.341,95%CI(2.861,3.900)]or other toxic substances[OR=3.669,95%CI(2.674,5.034)],and severe suicidal ideation[OR=3.913,95%CI(1.969,7.776)]were risk factors for adolescent caller seeking medical advice after self-harm,and the differences were statistically significant(P＜0.05).self-harm frequency≥2 times[OR=0.749,95%CI(0.648,0.865)]and self-harm caused by learning problems[OR=0.584,95%CI(0.404,0.844)]were protective factors for adolescent caller seeking medical advice after self-harm,and the differences were statistically significant(P＜0.01).Conclusions Adolescent hotline callers often engage in self-harm behavior through knife cuts,and the suicidal ideation is severe when the behavior occurs,but they rarely seek medical advice.There are differences in self-harm characteristics among adolescent callers of different genders and age groups.Gender,age,mode of self-harm,reason for self-harm,number of self-harm,and intensity of suicidal ideation at the time of self-harm were all influential factors in adolescent callers seeking medical care after self-harm.
Keywords：AdolescentSelf-harm behaviorPsychological support hotlineInfluencing factors
Publication Date：2024-01-20
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：8( 16-23 )