title: The impact of quality and quantity of social support on help-seeking behavior prior to deliberate self-harm.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Little is known about use of formal or informal help-seeking resources prior to deliberate self-harm (DSH) outside Western settings. The aim of the study was to investigate help-seeking behavior and correlates of this prior to self-harm in an East Asian setting.
  
  
  METHODS
  Over a year period, consecutive attendees at a general hospital emergency room in Taiwan with DSH were asked about prior medical contact and informal help-seeking in the month prior to DSH. Self-reported social support/network was measured using the Close Persons Questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean age of the 209 participants was 35.2 years (S.D.=13.3), with three times more women (75.6%) than men. Nearly half had made medical contact (47.1%) or sought informal help (54.1%) within the month prior to DSH. After adjustment, higher level of confiding and practical support were associated with seeking informal help (odds ratio [OR] 1.14, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.06-1.23; OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.04-1.32, respectively). Prior medical contact was negatively associated with higher social network outside the home (OR 0.91, 95% CI 0.85-0.98).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Social support/network potentially modifies help-seeking behavior prior to DSH. Quality rather than quantity of social support was associated with seeking informal support, with the reverse pattern associated with prior medical contact.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chia-Yi
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.forename: Hui-Chun
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Prince
authors.forename: Shen-Ing
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult