Prevalence of deliberate self harm and attempted suicide within contemporary Goth youth subculture: longitudinal cohort study.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate whether deliberate self harm is associated with contemporary Goth youth subculture.


METHODS
Longitudinal cohort study.


METHODS
School and community based study of young people living in the Central Clydeside Conurbation, Scotland.


METHODS
1258 people aged 19, surveyed in 2002-4 and followed-up since age 11 (1994).


METHODS
Lifetime prevalence of self harm and attempted suicide and their association with Goth youth subculture, before and after adjusting for confounders.


RESULTS
Identification as belonging to the Goth subculture was strongly associated with lifetime self harm and attempted suicide, with a prevalence of 53% and 47%, respectively among the most highly identified group, and evidence for a dose-response relation. Adjusting for potential confounders did not significantly attenuate this association. Analysis of other youth subcultures showed that this effect was primarily associated with Goth subculture.


CONCLUSIONS
Identification as belonging to the Goth subculture was the best predictor of self harm and attempted suicide. Although based on small numbers, additional longitudinal analysis suggests both selection and modelling mechanisms are involved, selection mechanisms possibly being more likely.
Young
Robert
R
MRC Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8RZ. robert@msoc.mrc.gla.ac.uk
Sweeting
Helen
H
West
Patrick
P
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012606:Scotland / Q000453:epidemiology; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012737:Sex Factors; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*