Self-harm is widely recognized as a significant adolescent social problem, and recent research has begun to explore its etiology. Drawing from Agnew's (1992) social psychological strain theory of deviance, this study considers this issue by testing three hypotheses about the effects of traditional and cyber bullying victimization on deliberate self-harm and suicidal ideation. The data come from...

AIMS To examine predictors of self-harm, especially substance use and psychological distress, in an Australian adult general population sample. DESIGN Sequential-cohort design with follow-up every four years. SETTING Australian general population. PARTICIPANTS A random sample of adults aged 20-24 and 40-44 years (at baseline) living in and around the Australian Capital Territory. MEASUR...

The phrase primum non nocere ("first, do no harm") is a well-accepted credo of the medical and mental health professions. Although emerging data indicate that several psychological treatments may produce harm in significant numbers of individuals, psychologists have until recently paid little attention to the problem of hazardous treatments. I critically evaluate and update earlier conclusions ...

This article reports new findings on the incidence of risk and the associated experience of harm reported by children and adolescents aged 11-16, regarding receipt of sexual messages on the internet (known popularly as sexting). Findings showed that the main predictors of the risk of seeing or receiving sexual messages online are age (older), psychological difficulties (higher), sensation seeki...

Self-harm is prevalent in incarcerated adults, yet comparatively few studies of self-harm in detained youth (and even fewer in low- and middle-income countries) have been published. We examined the prevalence and correlates of self-harm in a sample of 181 young people (mean age 15.0 years, SD = 2.3) detained in the youth justice system in Sri Lanka. Structured face-to-face questionnaires assess...

We assessed 5- to 11-year-olds' (N = 76) judgments of straightforward moral transgressions (prototypical harm) as well as their evaluations of complex, hypothetical scenarios in which an actor transgresses in order to prevent injury (necessary harm). The nature of the actor's transgression (psychological or physical harm) varied across participants. Moral judgments and justifications, knowledge...

BACKGROUND The suicide rate in Scotland is twice as high as that in England. However, the prevalence of self-harm is unknown. AIMS To determine the prevalence of self-harm in adolescents in Scotland and the factors associated with it. METHOD A total of 2008 pupils aged 15-16 years completed an anonymous lifestyle and coping survey. Information was obtained on demographic characteristics, li...