A sequence analysis of patterns in self-harm in young people with and without experience of being looked-after in care
Objectives: Young people in the public care system (‘looked-after’ young people) have high levels of self-harm. Design: This paper reports the first detailed study of factors leading to self-harm over time in looked-after young people in England, using sequence analyses of the Card Sort Task for Sel...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
Wiley
2017
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/42900/ |
| _version_ | 1848796596843577344 |
|---|---|
| author | Wadman, Ruth Clarke, David Sayal, Kapil Armstrong, Miriam Harroe, C. Majumder, P. Vostanis, Panos Townsend, Ellen |
| author_facet | Wadman, Ruth Clarke, David Sayal, Kapil Armstrong, Miriam Harroe, C. Majumder, P. Vostanis, Panos Townsend, Ellen |
| author_sort | Wadman, Ruth |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Objectives: Young people in the public care system (‘looked-after’ young people) have high levels of self-harm. Design: This paper reports the first detailed study of factors leading to self-harm over time in looked-after young people in England, using sequence analyses of the Card Sort Task for Self-harm (CaTS). Methods: Young people in care (looked-after group: n = 24; 14-21 years) and young people who had never been in care (contrast group: n = 21; 13-21 years) completed the CaTS, describing sequences of factors leading to their first and most recent episodes of self-harm. Lag sequential analysis determined patterns of significant transitions between factors (thoughts, feelings, behaviours, events) leading to self-harm across six months. Results: Young people in care reported feeling better immediately following their first episode of self-harm. However, fearlessness of death, impulsivity and access to means were reported most proximal to recent self-harm. Although difficult negative emotions were salient to self-harm sequences in both groups, young people with no experience of being in care reported a greater range of negative emotions and transitions between them. For the contrast group, feelings of depression and sadness were a significant starting point of the self-harm sequence six months prior to most recent self-harm. Conclusions: Sequences of factors leading to self-harm can change and evolve over time, so regular monitoring and assessment of each self-harm episode is needed. Support around easing and dealing with emotional distress is required. Restricting access to means to carry out potentially fatal self-harm attempts, particularly for the young persons with experience of being in care, is recommended. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:50:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-42900 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:50:30Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-429002020-05-04T19:54:56Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/42900/ A sequence analysis of patterns in self-harm in young people with and without experience of being looked-after in care Wadman, Ruth Clarke, David Sayal, Kapil Armstrong, Miriam Harroe, C. Majumder, P. Vostanis, Panos Townsend, Ellen Objectives: Young people in the public care system (‘looked-after’ young people) have high levels of self-harm. Design: This paper reports the first detailed study of factors leading to self-harm over time in looked-after young people in England, using sequence analyses of the Card Sort Task for Self-harm (CaTS). Methods: Young people in care (looked-after group: n = 24; 14-21 years) and young people who had never been in care (contrast group: n = 21; 13-21 years) completed the CaTS, describing sequences of factors leading to their first and most recent episodes of self-harm. Lag sequential analysis determined patterns of significant transitions between factors (thoughts, feelings, behaviours, events) leading to self-harm across six months. Results: Young people in care reported feeling better immediately following their first episode of self-harm. However, fearlessness of death, impulsivity and access to means were reported most proximal to recent self-harm. Although difficult negative emotions were salient to self-harm sequences in both groups, young people with no experience of being in care reported a greater range of negative emotions and transitions between them. For the contrast group, feelings of depression and sadness were a significant starting point of the self-harm sequence six months prior to most recent self-harm. Conclusions: Sequences of factors leading to self-harm can change and evolve over time, so regular monitoring and assessment of each self-harm episode is needed. Support around easing and dealing with emotional distress is required. Restricting access to means to carry out potentially fatal self-harm attempts, particularly for the young persons with experience of being in care, is recommended. Wiley 2017-11 Article PeerReviewed Wadman, Ruth, Clarke, David, Sayal, Kapil, Armstrong, Miriam, Harroe, C., Majumder, P., Vostanis, Panos and Townsend, Ellen (2017) A sequence analysis of patterns in self-harm in young people with and without experience of being looked-after in care. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 56 (4). pp. 388-407. ISSN 2044-8260 self-harm; adolescence; sequence analysis; children in care; looked-after children http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjc.12145/full doi:10.1111/bjc.12145 doi:10.1111/bjc.12145 |
| spellingShingle | self-harm; adolescence; sequence analysis; children in care; looked-after children Wadman, Ruth Clarke, David Sayal, Kapil Armstrong, Miriam Harroe, C. Majumder, P. Vostanis, Panos Townsend, Ellen A sequence analysis of patterns in self-harm in young people with and without experience of being looked-after in care |
| title | A sequence analysis of patterns in self-harm in young people with and without experience of being looked-after in care |
| title_full | A sequence analysis of patterns in self-harm in young people with and without experience of being looked-after in care |
| title_fullStr | A sequence analysis of patterns in self-harm in young people with and without experience of being looked-after in care |
| title_full_unstemmed | A sequence analysis of patterns in self-harm in young people with and without experience of being looked-after in care |
| title_short | A sequence analysis of patterns in self-harm in young people with and without experience of being looked-after in care |
| title_sort | sequence analysis of patterns in self-harm in young people with and without experience of being looked-after in care |
| topic | self-harm; adolescence; sequence analysis; children in care; looked-after children |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/42900/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/42900/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/42900/ |