It is well known that some teenagers, while not being specifically suicidal, are prone to deliberately injuring themselves with self inflicted cuts, bites or other lacerations. However, new research published by The American Academy of Pediatrics is showing children as young as 7 are engaging in these habits and putting themselves in danger.

The study entitled “Rates of Nonsuicidal Self-Injury in Youth: Age, Sex, and Behavioral Methods in a Community Sample,” took data from 665 youth aged between 7 and 16 who were asked about nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI).

A surprisingly high number of children totaling 53 in third, sixth and ninth grade confessed to having engaged in the activity, putting them alongside those in their early adolescence for the rate of NSSI.

Adolescence is considered a far more difficult time for children growing up, with puberty, peer pressure, conflict with parents and family and a general heightened sense of self worth or lack there of, thus it seemed surprising to researchers that so many young children are resorting to NSSI.

The article goes on to explain that some 1.5 percent of the children interviewed reported experiencing high levels of distress and resorted to engaging in NSSI at least five times over the past year. This meets part of the partial criteria for a proposed DSM-5 psychiatric diagnosis of a NSSI disorder.

Ninth-grade girls were three times more likely to self-injure than ninth-grade boys. Girls report cutting or carving skin, while boys were more likely to hit themselves. The children who said they had engaged in the activity also said they tended to feel depressed, angry and consumed with negative thoughts. The injuries, while considered a symptom of a deeper psychological problem, can, in themselves, have a significant effect on academics, relationships and social functioning and are considered an important marker in picking up on children with psychological difficulties and being able to offer them guidance and counseling.

In total those reporting NSSI broke down into:

  • 9.0% of girls and 6.7% of boys
  • 7.6% of third-graders
  • 4.0% of sixth-graders
  • 12.7% of ninth-graders
  • 19% of girls in the ninth grade
  • 5% of boys in the ninth grade

Researchers conclude that children and adolescents engage in NSSI and that ninth-grade girls seem most high risk category, reporting a rate three times higher than boys of the same age.

It also appears as per the breakdown above that behavioral methods of NSSI also vary by grade and gender.

The 5th edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders will be published in May 2013, and authors are considering including methods for NSSI diagnosis in the new edition. Thus is it a timely and essential research that has been published, helping parents, teachers and physicians to better understand NSSI engagement across development and gender groups.

Written by Rupert Shepherd