Parental and community risk factors for childhood self-harm thoughts and behaviours

Abstract

Background: Childhood self-harm is rare but increasing in frequency. Little is known about risk factors specifically for self-harm in preteen children. Methods: We examined self-harm thoughts and behaviours in children aged 3–14 years in association with parental and community-level risk factors, using a large general population-based record linkage sample (n = 74,479). Results: Parental factors were strongly associated with childhood self-harm, with over three-quarters of children with self-harm having a parent with a history of mental disorder and/or criminal offending. Community-level factors (socioeconomic deprivation, remote or regional location, and neighbourhood crime rate) were not associated with childhood self-harm after adjustment for confounding factors. Limitations: Measures of self-harm thoughts and behaviours derived from administrative data likely underestimate the prevalence of self-harm in the population. Conclusions: Intergenerational transmission of risk factors is likely an important contributor to childhood self- harm.