Discriminating levels of alcohol use associated with self-harm in individuals presenting to a district general hospital

Abstract

Aims and method: Although alcohol is reported as commonly associated with self-harm, there is nothing in the literature that bases the association on validated screening tools. We sought to discern the different types of alcohol use as discriminated by the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Completed AUDITs from a 2-year period were analysed, all relating to people who had presented to a district general hospital in Northumberland following self-harm. Results: The proportion of dependent, harmful and hazardous drinkers identified using AUDIT was many times higher than previously estimated in similar studies that had not used a validated alcohol screening tool. Clinical implications: The routine use of an alcohol screening tool should be part of any standard psychosocial assessment of self-harm, to guide appropriate interventions for problematic alcohol use that might otherwise be overlooked. Declaration of interest: None.