One in 10 Wellington youths self harm

One in 10 Wellington youths deliberately engage in self-harm behaviour, research by a Victoria University philosophy graduate has found.

Jessica Garisch studied deliberate self-harm behaviours by surveying more that 2000 students aged 16-19 as part of her psychology research.

"My research aimed to find out about the factors related to self-harm, who thought about it, who did it, the stereotypes associated with these people and the barriers to seeking help," she said.

Her research focused on self-harm behaviours that were not typically lethal including cutting, burning, breaking bones, scratching, dripping acid on the skin, pulling hair or hitting.

Of the youths studied, a third to a half had either thought about or tried to harm themselves in the past, and currently 12 per cent were engaging in self-harming behaviour, she said.

"I also found a difference between self-harm in young males and females.

"For males, social factors or having friends and family who self-harm were the biggest factors. For females, it was emotional difficulties or low self-esteem."

As part of her research she also interviewed guidance counsellors and spoke to teachers about how they would react to the behaviour.

Dr Garisch graduated with a philosophy doctorate in psychology this week.

- NZPA