Toxic childhoods’ blamed for 22,000 self-harm cases
More than 22,000 children and teenagers were treated in hospital for self-harming in 2012, according to official figures which experts said showed the “toxic” effects of social media and a society obsessed with body image.
Charities said the statistics, which showed a 30 per cent rise in self-harming among 10 to 14-year-olds, were a “deeply worrying” reflection of the pressures on young people.
Experts warned that cyberbullying on social networking websites had heaped misery on thousands of families, creating childhoods characterised by anxiety and loneliness.
The figures showed that in the past year, NHS hospitals treated 18,037 girls and 4,623 boys aged between 10 and 19 after they had deliberately harmed themselves — a rise of 11 per cent. During the same period, cases involving children between 10 and 14 rose from 4,008 to 5,192 — an increase of 30 per cent.
Lucie Russell, the director of campaigns at the Young Minds charity, said children were living in an “unprecedentedly toxic climate”, with a 24/7 online culture that they could not switch off. “Cyberbullying and ‘sexting’, bleak employment prospects and a society obsessed with body image are creating a negative environment around children and young people,” she added.
Young people turned to self-harm as a coping mechanism to manage emotional distress and were too often dismissed as attention seekers, said experts.
Mrs Russell said: “Young people today are growing up in a harsh environment with ever increasing stress to perform at school, next-to-zero job prospects and the constant pressure to keep up with the latest consumer trends. Social networking, although creating ever greater circles of ‘friends’, often leaves young people feeling even more isolated and alone.”
Children’s charities said GPs, teachers and parents often had no idea how to respond to young people who were self-harming.
Grania Hyde-Smith, from the charity ChildLine, said it had carried out 47,000 counselling sessions in the past year for children who self-harmed, a 40 per cent rise on the previous year.
She said: “Self-harm has become one of our greatest concerns, the numbers just keep rising and the children we are dealing with get younger and younger.”
“There are so many external factors that can collide: cyberbullying, family problems, exam pressures and sexual relationships. Often there is no one clear cause, but they use self-harm as a kind of coping mechanism to deal with their feelings.”
The charity issued a plea for volunteers to help in its counselling service.
Experts said the new figures from the Health and Social Care Information Centre were likely to be “the tip of the iceberg” because not all children would receive hospital care after attempts to harm themselves.
Studies suggest that one in 12 teenagers has self-harmed. Earlier this week, official NHS guidance warned that thousands of children as young as five were suffering from depression, with 8,000 cases among the under 10s.
A Department of Health spokesman said: “We have invested £54 million into improving access to mental health treatments for young people, and we have developed plans to help bring about a reduction in youth violence and suicide rates.”
For advice about self-harm or to volunteer as a counsellor visit www.nspcc.org.uk
