In the year following presentation to hospital after deliberate self harm, up to 25% of people repeat the act. A range of sociodemographic and psychological factors has been shown to predict the likelihood of repetition. 3 Factors related to the management of patients may also be important. Observational studies have suggested that some people who receive a psychiatric assessment as part of the...

Conditional goal setting is the tendency for people to see attainment of their future personal goals as necessary for their well-being. It has been argued that this represents an unhealthy way of relating to one's goals, as well as being particularly problematic when goals are perceived as unlikely. High conditional goal setting has been found to be related to depression and to hopelessness. Th...