Self-harm in UK armed forces personnel: Descriptive and case-control study of general hospital presentations

Hawton, Keith; Harriss, Louise; Casey, Deborah; Simkin, Sue; Harrison, Kate; Bray, Isabelle; Blatchley, Nick

Abstract

Background Little is known about self-harm in the armed forces. Aims To investigate the characteristics of armed forces personnel presenting to a general hospital following self-harm and compare these with matched controls who had self-harmed. Method Investigation of armed forces personnel presenting to hospital between 1989 and 2003 following self-harm and case-control comparison with people in the general population who had self-harmed. Results One hundred and sixty-six armed forces personnel presented with self-harm during the study period, of whom 72.3% (120) were male. Nearly two-thirds (62.7%) were aged under 25 years. Relationship problems (62.0%), employment problems (43.9%) and alcohol misuse (40.5%) were common. Fewer armed forces personnel than controls had evidence of current or past psychiatric disorders or treatment or a prior history of self-harm, and their suicidal intent was lower (males only). Of 64 people in the armed forces who presented during the first 9 years of the study period, 1 had died (from natural causes) by the end of 2000, compared with 9 (5.1%) of the controls, 6 by probable suicide. Conclusions Self-harm by armed forces personnel may often be a response to interpersonal and employment problems complicated by alcohol misuse, with relatively low suicide intent.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Mar 1, 2009
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 8, 2019
• Journal: British Journal of Psychiatry
• Print ISSN: 0007-1250
• Electronic ISSN: 1472-1465
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 194
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 266-272
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.107.048595
• Keywords: self-harm, Armed Forces personnel
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/1003020
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.107.048595