Deliberate self-poisoning in childhood and early adolescence.

One hundred children under 16 yrs of age, who were admitted to hospital following an episode of deliberate self-poisoning, were compared with 50 psychiatric, non-suicidal controls, proportionally matched for age and sex. The self-poisoners showed more delinquency, school problems, previous self-poisoning, running away, and previous experience of "Care" than did the psychiatric controls. Their families showed more evidence of marital failure, previous psychiatric disorder, self-poisoning, and delinquency, than was present in control families. Their presentation was often acute, though usually within the setting of long-term, chronic difficulties, and emphasises the need for skilled and careful assessment.