The objective of this project is to evaluate self-harming intentions of psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents.
Suicide is a leading cause of death among young people and, suicidal and non-suicidal self-injurious behaviors (e.g. "cutting") are common among troubled youth. About 17% to 20% of high school students a year report having seriously considered suicide in the prior 12 months, and 9% indicate that they attempted to end their life. However, not all acts of deliberate self-harm spring from suicidal intentions. An estimated 13% to 18% of youth engage in acute (i.e. non-habitual) self-injurious behavior without having any suicidal intent. Such non-suicidal self-injurious behaviors usually include cutting, scratching, burning or hitting oneself. Although many people who injure themselves without suicidal intent have, at other times, been suicidal, the behaviors contain important differences in the time of crisis. Specifically, adolescents who are suicidal by definition wish to die, and they require help to stay alive. Adolescents who injure themselves without suicidal intent report that they do not wish to die, prompting one researcher to view non-suicidal self-injury as a "morbid form of self-help."
This study will examine the intentions of self-harming adolescents and evaluate the clinical utility of several suicidal and self-harm rating scales in distinguishing serious suicide intentions from non-suicidal self-injurious behavior.
Preceptor Information |
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| Name: | John Peterson |
| Department: | Psychiatry |
| Location: | Denver Health Medical Center |
777 Bannock Street (MC 1910) |
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| Contact: | 303-436-6680 |
| john.peterson@dhha.org | |
| Faculty/Lab Website: | |
Position Information |
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| Openings: | 2 |
| Funding: | Hourly research assistant compensation |