TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2022//
TI  - Self-harm, dentofacial features, and bullying
JO  - American journal of orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics
A1  - Al-Bitar, Zaid B.
A1  - Sonbol, Hawazen N.
A1  - Al-Omari, Iyad K.
A1  - Badran, Serene A.
A1  - Naini, Farhad B.
A1  - Al-Omiri, Mahmoud K.
A1  - Hamdan, Ahmad M.
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - INTRODUCTION: Self-harm is a growing public health problem. The study aimed to investigate the prevalence of self-harm among a representative sample of school children and the contribution of dentofacial appearance and being bullied because of dentofacial appearance to self-harm. <br><br>METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study in which a representative sample of eighth-grade students (aged 13-14 years) from randomly selected schools was asked to complete anonymous questionnaires distributed in the classroom. The final sample size was 699 children (339 girls, 360 boys) with a mean age of 13.3 years, representing 1.26% of the target population. <br><br>RESULTS: The prevalence of self-harm was 26.9% (n = 188), with no statistically significant gender differences (P >0.05). Among all the subjects who reported self-harm, 47.9% (n = 90) reported self-harm because of dentofacial features. A total of 41 subjects reported self-harm because of bullying targeted at dentofacial features, representing around one fifth of subjects who reported self-harm. The 3 most common dentofacial features contributing to self-harm and self-harm as a result of bullying were tooth color and shape, spacing between the teeth or missing teeth, and prominent maxillary anterior teeth. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated a relatively high experience of self-harm reported by adolescent school children, with many reporting self-harm as a result of their dentofacial appearance and bullying because of dentofacial features. The present study provides baseline data to better understand the relationship between self-harm and dentofacial features.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0889-5406
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ajodo.2021.02.025
ID  - ref1
ER  -