Citation

House A. BJPsych Open 2020; 6(2): e23.

Affiliation

Professor of Liaison Psychiatry, Leeds Institute of Health Sciences, University of Leeds, UK. Email: a.o.house@leeds.ac.uk.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Royal College of Psychiatrists)

DOI

10.1192/bjo.2020.5

PMID

32046812

Abstract

There are a number of candidates as useful outcomes in self-harm research - repetition of self-harm; symptom states; quality of life, social participation. Repetition of self-harm has been the predominant choice of researchers, not least because of its status as a risk for eventual suicide. Use of alternatives would respond to the preferences of study participants, but there are substantial methodological constraints. Nonetheless more attention could be given to the use of outcomes other than repetition. Another option is to broaden the approach to evaluation design, incorporating advances in the use of observational data either alone or linked to data from trials.

Language: en

Keywords

Outcome studies; deliberate self-harm; psychosocial interventions