How common is self-harm?
Self-harm is not well-understood and has not yet been extensively studied. The rates of self-harm revealed through research vary tremendously depending on how researchers pose their questions about this behavior. One widely cited estimate of the incidence of impulsive self-injury is that it occurs in at least person per 1,000 annually1. A recent study of psychiatric outpatients found that 33% reported engaging in self-harm in the previous 3 months. A recent study of college undergraduates asked study participants about specific self-harm behaviors and found alarmingly high rates. Although the high rates may have been due in part to the broad spectrum of self-harm behaviors that were assessed (e.g., severe scratching and interfering with the healing of wounds were included), the numbers are certainly cause for concern: • 18% reported having harmed themselves more than 10 times in the past, • 10% reported having harmed themselves more than 100 times in the past, and • 38% endorsed a hist
