title: Self-harm and homeless adults.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Homelessness is associated with an increased incidence of mental illness and risk of self-harm, including suicide.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess the prevalence of self-harm (including nonsuicidal self-injury and attempted suicide) among a UK sample of homeless adults and to compare demographic, clinical, and homeless-related variables to determine which are linked to self-harm in this population.
  
  
  METHODS
  A sample of 80 homeless adults were interviewed regarding history of self-harm, mental health history, demographic, and homeless-related information.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sixty-eight percent of the sample reported past acts of self-harm. Those with histories of self-harm started using significantly more substances since becoming homeless and were younger when they first became homeless. They were also significantly more likely to have a past psychiatric admission and thoughts of self-harm in the past year.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Self-harm is common among homeless adults and linked to long-term and enduring social and mental health concerns.
authors.affiliation: Academic Clinical Psychiatry, University of Sheffield, UK. g.pluck@sheffi eld.ac.uk
authors.forename: Graham
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pluck
authors.forename: Kwang-Hyuk
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Randolph W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Parks
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006703:Ill-Housed Persons / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000453:epidemiology*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000706:statistics & numerical data