Oldershaw et al (pp. 140–144) conducted a qualitative study to obtain parental perspectives on adolescent self-harm. Using an interpretative phenomenological approach, they identified four key themes relating to: the process of discovery of the behaviour; making sense of the behaviour; the psychological impact of selfharm on parents; and the effect of adolescent self-harm on parenting and famil...

Two papers in the Journal this month examine factors that influence rates of suicide and suicidal behaviour, considering both individual and societal determinants. O’Reilly et al (pp. 106– 111) assessed the role of area-level factors in their 5-year followup study of the population in Northern Ireland. They found that suicide rates were higher in the more deprived areas of the country, as previ...

Resolving community noise problems demands not just accurate data about noise impacts but also requires an effective means of communicating this information to decision makers. The Interactive Sound Information System (ISIS) is a “new media” package designed to explain and de-mystify the complex metrics used to describe noise impacts. Central to the ISIS package is the idea that “real” noise ex...

After 10 years of follow-up of a cohort of adolescents and young adults living in Munich, Tijssen et al (pp. 102–108) found that the persistence of affective symptoms earlier in life predicted later development of bipolar disorder in a dose–response fashion. They confirmed that although hypomanic symptoms are relatively common in adolescence, most resolve with time. In a Swedish national cohort...