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DELIBERATE SELF‐POISONING IN CHILDHOOD AND EARLY ADOLESCENCE
Author(s) -
Kerfoot Michael
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
journal of child psychology and psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.652
H-Index - 211
eISSN - 1469-7610
pISSN - 0021-9630
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-7610.1988.tb00721.x
Subject(s) - juvenile delinquency , psychology , psychiatry , poison control , injury prevention , suicide prevention , occupational safety and health , human factors and ergonomics , clinical psychology , medicine , medical emergency , pathology
One hundred children under 16 yrs of age, who were admitted to hospital following an episode of deliberate self‐poisoning, were compared with 50 psychiatric, non‐suicidal controls, proportionally matched for age and sex. The self‐poisoners showed more delinquency, school problems, previous self‐poisoning, running away, and previous experience of “Care” than did the psychiatric controls. Their families showed more evidence of marital failure, previous psychiatric disorder, self‐poisoning, and delinquency, than was present in control families. Their presentation was often acute, though usually within the setting of long‐term, chronic difficulties, and emphasises the need for skilled and careful assessment.