scholarly journals Depressive Symptoms among Self-Harming Adolescents

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Slavka Demuthova ◽  
◽  
Zuzana Rojkova ◽  

Self-harm is a common form of high-risk behaviour in adolescents. It is often linked to depression; however, the correlation between these two variables has scarcely been studied. The presented study on a sample of 1,117 adolescents aged from 11 to 19 (mean age 15.56) compares the occurrence of depressive symptoms (measured by the CDI questionnaire) in individuals who self-harm versus those who do not self-harm, it investigates whether there is a correlation between the intensity of self-harm (measured by a modified SHI questionnaire) and depressive symptoms on a sample of self-harming adolescents, as well as explores the specificities of the correlation in terms of the age and sex of the subjects. The results showed that the occurrence of depressive symptoms: 1/ is statistically significantly higher (p = 0.000) among self-harming individuals compared to non-self-harmers, particularly in female subjects, 2/ significantly correlates with the intensity of self-harming behaviour in the group of self-harmers (p = 0.000), and 3/ it decreases with age among self-harming female subjects. The conclusions point to a need for the clarification of the relationship between depressive symptoms and self-harming behaviour (presence and direction of causality) and to the consequences in clinical practice.

2008 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Oldershaw ◽  
E. Grima ◽  
F. Jollant ◽  
C. Richards ◽  
M. Simic ◽  
...  

BackgroundHealthy adolescents, and adults who engage in reward-driven, risky behaviours, demonstrate poor decision-making ability. Decision making in deliberate self-harm (DSH), a reward-driven, high-risk behaviour, has received little attention. This study assessed decision making and problem solving in adolescents with current or past SH.MethodDecision making and problem solving were assessed using the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and the Means–Ends Problem-Solving Procedure (MEPS) respectively in 133 adolescents (57 healthy and 22 depressed controls with no SH history and 54 with SH history). A second analysis separated the SH group into current (n=30) and past (n=24) SH.ResultsThe collective performance of adolescents with SH history did not differ from depressed or healthy adolescents on the IGT. However, current self-harming adolescents had a trend towards more high-risk choices (p=0.06) than those with previous SH history and were the only group not to significantly improve over time, persisting with high-risk strategy throughout. Those who no longer self-harmed learnt to use a low-risk strategy similar to healthy and depressed controls. Recency of last SH episode correlated with IGT performance. Depressed participants performed well on the IGT but poorly on the MEPS. By contrast, both collective and divided SH groups had comparable MEPS scores to healthy controls, all performing better than depressed participants.ConclusionPoor decision making is present in adolescents who currently self-harm but not in those with previous history; improvement in decision-making skills may therefore be linked to cessation of self-harm. Depressed adolescents who do and do not self-harm may have distinct characteristics.


Crisis ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 272-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison S. Christian ◽  
Kristen M. McCabe

Background: Deliberate self-harm (DSH) occurs with high frequency among clinical and nonclinical youth populations. Although depression has been consistently linked with the behavior, not all depressed individuals engage in DSH. Aims: The current study examined maladaptive coping strategies (i.e., self-blame, distancing, and self-isolation) as mediators between depression and DSH among undergraduate students. Methods: 202 students from undergraduate psychology courses at a private university in Southern California (77.7% women) completed anonymous self-report measures. Results: A hierarchical regression model found no differences in DSH history across demographic variables. Among coping variables, self-isolation alone was significantly related to DSH. A full meditational model was supported: Depressive symptoms were significantly related to DSH, but adding self-isolation to the model rendered the relationship nonsignificant. Limitations: The cross-sectional study design prevents determination of whether a casual relation exists between self-isolation and DSH, and obscures the direction of that relationship. Conclusions: Results suggest targeting self-isolation as a means of DSH prevention and intervention among nonclinical, youth populations.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
David A. Wiss ◽  
Marjan Javanbakht ◽  
Michael J. Li ◽  
Michael Prelip ◽  
Robert Bolan ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective: To understand the relationship between drug use, food insecurity (FI), and mental health among men who have sex with men (MSM). Design: Cohort study (2014-2019) with at least one follow-up. Setting: Visits at 6-month intervals included self-assessment for FI and depressive symptoms. Urine testing results confirmed drug use. Factors associated with FI were assessed using multiple logistic regression with random effects for repeated measures. General structural equation modeling tested whether FI mediates the relationship between drug use and depressive symptoms. Participants: Data were from HIV-positive and high-risk HIV negative MSM in Los Angeles, CA (n=431; 1,192 visits). Results: At baseline, FI was reported by 50.8% of participants, depressive symptoms in 36.7%, and 52.7% of urine screening tests were positive for drugs (i.e., marijuana, opioids, methamphetamine, cocaine, ecstasy). A positive drug test was associated with a 96% increase in the odds of being food insecure (95% CI: 1.26-3.07). Compared to those with high food security, individuals with very low food security have a nearly 7-fold increase in the odds of reporting depressive symptoms (95% CI: 3.71-11.92). Findings showed 14.9% of the association between drug use (exposure) and depressive symptoms (outcome) can be explained by FI (mediator). Conclusion: The prevalence of FI among this cohort of HIV-positive and high-risk HIV-negative MSM was high; the association between drug use and depressive symptoms was partially mediated by FI. Findings suggest that enhancing access to food and nutrition may improve mood in the context of drug use, especially among MSM at risk for HIV-transmission.


2000 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 463-471 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Dwyer ◽  
Gerard J. A. Byrne

Screaming and other types of disruptive vocalization are commonly observed among nursing home residents. Depressive symptoms are also frequently seen in this group, although the relationship between disruptive vocalization and depressive symptoms is unclear. Accordingly, we sought to examine this relationship in older nursing home residents. We undertook a controlled comparison of 41 vocally disruptive nursing home residents and 43 non-vocally-disruptive nursing home residents. All participants were selected to have Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores of at least 10. Participants had a mean age of 81.0 years (range 63-97 years) and had a mean MMSE score of 17.8 (range 10-29). Nurse ratings of disruptive vocalization according to a semioperationalized definition were validated against the noisy behavior subscale of the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory. Subjects were independently rated for depressive symptoms by a psychiatrist using the Dementia Mood Assessment Scale, the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia, and the Depressive Signs Scale. Vocally disruptive nursing home residents scored significantly higher than controls on each of these three depresion-in-dementia scales. These differences remained significant when the effects of possible confounding variables of cognitive impairment, age, and sex were removed. We conclude that depressive symptoms are associated with disruptive vocalization and may have an etiological role in the generation of disruptive vocalization behaviors in elderly nursing home residents.


2019 ◽  
Vol 91 (12) ◽  
pp. 75-83
Author(s):  
V V Fomin ◽  
T E Morosova ◽  
V V Tsurko

In recent years, the relationship of hyperuricemia and gout with a high risk of cardiovascular disease has been widely discussed. Therefore, it is important to systematically examine patients in order to diagnose comorbidities, among which cardiovascular disease and its complications occupy a leading place and consider mandatory treatment of patients with hyperuricemia and gout with high cardiovascular risk with lowering drugs, which fully reflects the provisions of the latest European recommendations for the management and treatment of patients with gout.


2013 ◽  
Vol 150 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn Fletcher ◽  
Gordon Parker ◽  
Amelia Paterson ◽  
Howe Synnott

Author(s):  
Puspanjali Mohapatro ◽  
Rashmimala Pradhan

Objective: This study is designed to examine the risk taking behaviours that are harmful to students at a selected university. In this case, high-risk behaviours have been studied, such as harmful behaviours, coercion, smoke, alcohol contain substance abuse, and drug addiction. Materials and methods: Current study which is a type of descriptive survey research. The sample of this study included 200 students from a selected university in Bhubaneswar, who were selected through a convenient sampling technique. The Self -structured questionnaire tool has been used for a to collect socio demographic variables. A Structured checklist developed to measure risk taking behaviour. For this section rating scale was adopted with score was low risk, medium risk and high risk. In this study, score range 14-28 divided in to 3 scales- Low risk (14-18), Medium (19-24), High (25-28). A behavioural rating scale was used to analyse the behaviour. Results: The results showed that the increase in risky behaviour among students was 87% and higher for boys than girls and 40% for campus students had a higher risk of alcohol use. About 69.5% of the age group 19-27 were involved in alcohol consumption due to level of high living standard, high sources of income and happiness. Conclusion: The results of the study on identification of risky behaviours to precedence among students, by accessing a high-risk behaviour profile will help policymakers accurately identify student behaviours to make plan for promoting health improvements activity, with to linking the group's real needs and challenges.


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