The Epidemiology of Deliberate Self-harm

Abstract

In a 6-month prospective study of the three main general hospitals in Ibadan, Nigeria, 39 cases of deliberate self-harm were reported out of a total 23,859 subjects attending the sections of hospital studied. Thirty (76.9%) were under 30 years of age and 36 (86.3%) were under 34 years of age. The male to female ratio was 1.4.1: more than half of the population (51.3%) were students and 25.6%, manual workers. The methods used were mainly ingestion of chemicals (24 patients) and psychotropic drugs (11 patients). Disturbed interpersonal relationships, especially with parents, were mainly found to have motivated the acts. The implications of these findings are discussed.