Rowe Sarah L, French Rebecca S, Henderson Claire, Ougrin Dennis, Slade Mike, Moran Paul
King's College London, Health Service and Population Research Department, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Department of Social and Environmental Health Research, Faculty of Public Health & Policy, London, UK.
Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2014 Dec;48(12):1083-95. doi: 10.1177/0004867414555718. Epub 2014 Oct 21.
Self-harm is common in adolescence, but most young people who self-harm do not seek professional help. The aim of this literature review was to determine (a) the sources of support adolescents who self-harm access if they seek help, and (b) the barriers and facilitators to help-seeking for adolescents who self-harm.
Using a pre-defined search strategy we searched databases for terms related to self-harm, adolescents and help-seeking. Studies were included in the review if participants were aged 11-19 years.
Twenty articles met criteria for inclusion. Between a third and one half of adolescents who self-harm do not seek help for this behaviour. Of those who seek help, results showed adolescents primarily turned to friends and family for support. The Internet may be more commonly used as a tool for self-disclosure rather than asking for help. Barriers to help-seeking included fear of negative reactions from others including stigmatisation, fear of confidentiality being breached and fear of being seen as 'attention-seeking'. Few facilitators of help-seeking were identified.
Of the small proportion of adolescents who seek help for their self-harm, informal sources are the most likely support systems accessed. Interpersonal barriers and a lack of knowledge about where to go for help may impede help-seeking. Future research should address the lack of knowledge regarding the facilitators of help-seeking behaviour in order to improve the ability of services to engage with this vulnerable group of young people.
自我伤害在青少年中很常见，但大多数自我伤害的年轻人并未寻求专业帮助。这篇文献综述的目的是确定：（a）自我伤害的青少年若寻求帮助，他们获得支持的来源；（b）自我伤害的青少年寻求帮助的障碍和促进因素。
我们使用预先定义的检索策略，在数据库中搜索与自我伤害、青少年和寻求帮助相关的术语。如果研究参与者的年龄在11至19岁之间，则纳入本综述。
20篇文章符合纳入标准。三分之一到二分之一的自我伤害青少年并未就这种行为寻求帮助。在那些寻求帮助的青少年中，结果显示他们主要向朋友和家人寻求支持。互联网可能更常被用作自我披露的工具，而非寻求帮助的途径。寻求帮助的障碍包括担心他人的负面反应，如被污名化、担心隐私被泄露以及担心被视为“寻求关注”。几乎没有发现寻求帮助的促进因素。
在为自我伤害寻求帮助的青少年中，少数人最有可能获得的支持系统是来自非正式渠道。人际障碍以及对求助途径缺乏了解可能会阻碍寻求帮助。未来的研究应解决在寻求帮助行为促进因素方面的知识欠缺问题，以提高服务机构与这一脆弱青少年群体接触的能力。
