title: 'In two minds'--socially motivated self-harm is perceived as less serious than internally motivated: a qualitative study of youth justice staff.
abstract: Community-based young offenders are at high risk of self-harm and unlikely to be in contact with mental health services. Semi-structured interviews with community youth justice staff and a content analysis of 50 records of self-harm not only revealed staff concerns about the impact of stigma on disclosure and service use, but also found dismissive attitudes towards socially motivated self-harm, which was equated with lower suicide risk and less emotional distress. Efforts to improve identification of self-harm will need to address the perceived - and false - distinction between 'genuine' and socially motivated self-harm.
authors.affiliation: Primary Care Group, University of Manchester, 5th Floor Williamson Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK. sarah.knowles@manchester.ac.uk
authors.forename: Sarah E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Knowles
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Townsend
authors.forename: Martin P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Anderson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D003156:Community Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000523:psychology; D035846:Law Enforcement; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders; D009042:Motivation; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012650:Self Disclosure; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: mental illness; professional attitudes; screening; self-harm; suicide; young offenders