iBet uBet web content aggregator. Adding the entire web to your favor.
iBet uBet web content aggregator. Adding the entire web to your favor.



Link to original content: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7139213
Motivational aspects of deliberate self-poisoning in adolescents - PubMed Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1982 Sep:141:286-91.
doi: 10.1192/bjp.141.3.286.

Motivational aspects of deliberate self-poisoning in adolescents

K Hawton, D Cole, J O'Grady, M Osborn

Motivational aspects of deliberate self-poisoning in adolescents

K Hawton et al. Br J Psychiatry. 1982 Sep.

Abstract

A systematic study of 50 adolescent self-poisoners aged from 13 to 18 demonstrated considerable discrepancies between the reasons chosen by the subjects to explain the overdoses and those chosen by clinical assessors. Most adolescents indicated that they had been feeling lonely or unwanted, or angry with someone, and had taken the overdose to alleviate or demonstrate this distress. A third said they had wanted to die. In contrast, clinical assessors tended to attribute the overdose to punitive or manipulative reasons and suggested that only seven out of the 50 had wished to die. The adolescents rarely indicated that they had taken the overdose to get help; this may explain the resistance that may be shown to psychiatric intervention, that casts doubt on the possible effectiveness of preventive agencies. Modification of attitudes to both self-poisoning and early help-seeking may be a more effective means of prevention.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources