title: Nonsuicidal Self-Injury in Adolescents Placed in Youth Welfare and Juvenile Justice Group Homes: Associations with Mental Disorders and Suicidality.
abstract: Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a frequent phenomenon in adolescents, however there is a lack of studies on the prevalence of NSSI in adolescents placed in youth welfare and juvenile justice group homes. The goal of the present study is to investigate the prevalence rates of NSSI and mental disorders in adolescents living in the youth welfare system, as well as how occasional and repetitive NSSI differ with respect to mental disorders, suicidality, and gender. The sample consisted of 397 adolescents aged 12 to19 years (mean age = 15.98, SD = 1.77, 65.7% male) placed in youth welfare and juvenile justice group homes. NSSI, suicidality, and mental disorders were assessed using the Kiddie-Schedule of Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (K-SADS-PL). Lifetime prevalence rates of occasional and repetitive NSSI were 21.9% and 18.4%, respectively and 85.6% of the sample endorsed a lifetime mental disorder. Occasional and repetitive NSSI were significantly associated with depressive, conduct, and substance use disorders (d = 0.50-0.67) among both genders. Prevalence rates of repetitive NSSI in youth welfare and juvenile justice institutions are higher than in the general population and males who engage in NSSI are at particularly high risk of suicidality. Due to the high prevalence of NSSI and its related problems, NSSI should be routinely assessed in this vulnerable population and staff should be trained in recognizing and handling NSSI as well as supporting adolescents in improving their emotion regulation skills.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychiatric Clinics of the University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Janine
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lüdtke
authors.affiliation: Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Koblenz-Landau, Landau, Germany.
authors.forename: Tina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: In-Albon
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychiatric Clinics of the University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schmeck
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: Paul L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Plener
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: Jörg M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Fegert
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychiatric Clinics of the University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland. Marc.Schmid@upkbs.ch.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3695-4693
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schmid
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002669:Child Welfare / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019955:Conduct Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D016352:Group Homes / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012737:Sex Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013405:Suicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013557:Switzerland / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Juvenile justice; Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI); Residential group home; Suicidality; Youth welfare system