Wadman, Ruth orcid.org/0000-0003-4205-0631, Clarke, D, Sayal, K et al. (5 more authors) (2017) A sequence analysis of patterns in self-harm in young people with and without experience of being looked-after in care. British journal of clinical psychology. ISSN 0144-6657
Abstract
Objectives: Young people in the public care system (‘looked-after’ young people) have high levels of self-harm. Design: This paper reports the first detailed study of factors leading to self-harm over time in looked-after young people in England, using sequence analyses of the Card Sort Task for Self-harm (CaTS). Methods: Young people in care (looked-after group: n = 24; 14-21 years) and young people who had never been in care (contrast group: n = 21; 13-21 years) completed the CaTS, describing sequences of factors leading to their first and most recent episodes of self-harm. Lag sequential analysis determined patterns of significant transitions between factors (thoughts, feelings, behaviours, events) leading to self-harm across six months. Results: Young people in care reported feeling better immediately following their first episode of self-harm. However, fearlessness of death, impulsivity and access to means were reported most proximal to recent self-harm. Although difficult negative emotions were salient to self-harm sequences in both groups, young people with no experience of being in care reported a greater range of negative emotions and transitions between them. For the contrast group, feelings of depression and sadness were a significant starting point of the self-harm sequence six months prior to most recent self-harm. Conclusions: Sequences of factors leading to self-harm can change and evolve over time, so regular monitoring and assessment of each self-harm episode is needed. Support around easing and dealing with emotional distress is required. Restricting access to means to carry out potentially fatal self-harm attempts, particularly for the young persons with experience of being in care, is recommended.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | ©2017 The British Psychological Society. This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. Further copying may not be permitted; contact the publisher for details |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Health Sciences (York) |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 14 Jun 2017 08:45 |
Last Modified: | 26 Feb 2025 00:05 |
Status: | Published online |
Refereed: | Yes |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:117757 |
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Filename: LAC_sequence_analysis_paper_Author_Accepted_Manuscript_May2017.pdf
Description: LAC sequence analysis paper_Author Accepted Manuscript_May2017