Sociodemographic Profile and Psychological Factors Influencing Deliberate Self Harm in a Tertiary Rural Health Care Setup: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: There has been a rising trend of deliberate self-harm (DSH) in India recently. The tendency to harm oneself is associated to female sex, younger age, stressful life events and mental illnesses such as depression. Knowledge of socio-demographic factors and psychiatric morbidities in patients having self-harming behavior can be helpful in planning suicide prevention strategies.Methods: This was a hospital-based descriptive, observational, cross-sectional study. The data was collected from 150 consecutive referrals DSH to the psychiatry OPD in Rural Tertiary Care Centre. Corresponding validated psychometric scales quantified severity of depression, and suicide intent.Results: Most of the study population belonged to 18 to 29 years age group and most were males (n = 105, 70%). Poisoning was the most common mode of DSH (n = 133, 88.7%). Diagnosable psychiatric illnesses were found in 52 (34.6%) patients, most common being adjustment disorder (n = 25, 16.6%).Conclusion: Our study highlights the socio-demographic, psychosocial and clinical factors present in individuals attempting self-harm.