ABSTRACT
Suicidal behaviour has increasingly been recognised in the past three decades as a major public health concern. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in adolescents and young adults worldwide1-6 and takes a central part in the health policies of many countries including the UK.7-9 The prevalence of self-harm has been extensively discussed in Chapter 2. Although completed suicide is relatively rare in adolescents,5,6,10 it is still the second (after accidents) most common cause of death in this age group in most developed countries apart from USA, where it is also exceeded by homicide. However, self-harm11-44 and suicidal thinking13-16,19,25-26,29-33,45-46
are both common with the former being possibly on the rise.11,47 In addition, self-harming is possibly on the rise.11,47 Self-harm identification, detailed assessment and effective intervention in this age group, specifically taking into account their vulnerability, have been highlighted as public health imperatives.48 These are dictated by the increased risk of suicide in young people engaging in self-harming behaviours2,12,47 and the high co-occurrence of self-harm with mental health and social problems.47
