Rebloom
Black Dog Institute
Research Project
The following research was developed by a skilled team of researchers from Black Dog Institute
“I felt like I needed help or I needed someone to help me with solutions or someone to look after me. I couldn't bear having prove something or confirm [self-harm] to people repeatedly.”
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What support do young women want for self-harm? A qualitative study
Abstract​
Introduction: Rates of self-harm among young women have been increasing in recent years across multiple high-income nations. Given the negative outcomes associated with self-harm, it is essential that young women who engage in self-harm receive the support that best addresses their specific needs. The aim of the current study was to explore support preferences among Australian young women with a history of self-harm.
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Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 27 young women (M = 20.9, SD = 2.1) with a history of self-harm recruited through social media posts. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed using a Reflexive Thematic Analysis approach.
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Results: Thematic analysis of the data identified themes pertaining to: 1) the types of support young women want around self-harm, and 2) how young women would like to receive support for self-harm. Regarding the former, participants expressed wanting information about self-harm and self-harm interventions, education about self-harm for those around them, age-specific mental health education and alternative coping strategies. Some participants expressed not wanting any support. Regarding the latter, participants wanted self-harm information to be provided by health professionals and in school settings and preferred for information to be provided in written or digital form.
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Conclusions: The findings highlight the need to improve access to formal mental health support among young women, the importance of young people being able to access support confidentially and the need for those around young people to be educated about self-harm. Additionally, the findings support a role for schools in providing information about mental health and available supports.
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Authors: Demee Rheinberger 1 Smrithi Ravindra 1 Amy Wang 2 Brittany Bunyan 2 Lorna Hankin 2 Isabel Mahony 2 Isabella Gilbert 2
Aimy Slade 1 Helen Christensen 1,3 Alison L. Calear 4 Katherine Boydell 1,3 Samantha Tang 1
1 Black Dog Institute, UNSW Sydney, NSW, Australia, 2 University of Technology Sydney, NSW, Australia 3 UNSW Sydney,
NSW, Australia, 4 Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia