Grant: Project Grant

Self-harm among youth is a major public health concern. Usually first occurring in early adolescence, it is estimated that 18% of youth engage in self-harming behaviours at some point in their lives. These may include cutting, self-hitting, pinching, scratching, burning, minor overdosing and interfering with wound healing. Recent media reports reinforce that self-harming provokes a great deal of suffering among youth and their families, who struggle to access appropriate care. Likewise, service providers find it difficult to treat youth who self-harm. While self-harming can have a significant impact on a youth's life, it is poorly understood. Before we can develop effective services and supports, we first need to gain an understanding of self-harm from the perspectives of youth who self-harm and their families as well as service providers who support them. The aim of this study is to increase our understanding of the experiences and needs of youth who self-harm and their families. This information is essential in order to design better services and supports for this population. Youth with a history of engaging in self-harming behaviours and their families will be interviewed. Youth will take part in art-based activities that will help them reflect on and express their experiences of self-harm. Healthcare and social service providers and school counsellors will also be interviewed. This study will engage youth who self-harm, their families and service providers and provide them an opportunity to more fully articulate their experiences and develop a shared vision of care for those affected, whose voices are virtually absent in healthcare research and practice. In framing self-harm through the lived experience of multiple perspectives, increased insight on self-harm will result. This study is a necessary initial step of a first of its kind research program aimed at advancing patient-oriented service delivery and outcomes for youth who self-harm.