Managing deliberate self-harm in young people: an evaluation of a training program developed for school welfare staff using a longitudinal research design.
BACKGROUND
Although deliberate self-harm is prevalent among young people, many who engage in deliberate self-harm receive sub-optimal care. Although schools are a well placed setting to support young people who engage in self-harm there are no specific training packages designed to assist school welfare staff to support these young people.The current study aimed to design, deliver and evaluate a training course specifically for school staff.


METHODS
The study employed a longitudinal design. Two hundred and thirteen people participated in the training and evaluation. A questionnaire was administered at baseline, immediately after the training and at 6-month follow-up in order to determine if the training led to improvements in confidence when working with young people who self-harm, perceived skill, knowledge of, and attitudes towards people who self harm.


RESULTS
Prior to the course, the majority of participants demonstrated relatively high levels of confidence, perceived skill and knowledge of self-harm and endorsed relatively positive attitudes towards people who engage in self-harm. Despite this, significant improvements were observed in terms of increased confidence, increased perceptions of skill along with increased knowledge of deliberate self-harm. These improvements were sustained over the follow-up period.


CONCLUSIONS
The results demonstrated that the provision of specifically designed training can help school welfare staff to feel better equipped to support young people who are engaging in deliberate self-harm.
Robinson
Jo
J
Department of Psychiatry, Orygen Research Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia. jo.robinson@mh.org.au
Gook
Sara
S
Yuen
Hok Pan
HP
McGorry
Patrick D
PD
Yung
Alison R
AR
D000293:Adolescent; D001290:Attitude; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects; D016730:Program Development / Q000592:standards*; D012572:School Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012946:Social Welfare / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult
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