How common is self-harm?
Nationally representative surveys are used to find out how many young people self-harm.
In 2021, 24% of 17-year-olds had self-harmed in the previous month. Rates of self-harm among young people have been rising, especially among those in their mid to late teens. In 2022, 38% of girls aged 13-16-years olds were found to self harm, compared to 11.5% of boys. Among sexual minority adolescents, as many as 56% have been found to self-harm, compared to 21% of heterosexual adolescents.
Reported estimates of self-harm can vary between 10% and 56%. This can be because:
- Many instances of self-harm are not formally reported
- A survey may ask parents, doctors or young people, who each know and share different amounts
- A survey may ask whether a young person has ever self-harmed, or has in the past week, month or year
- Rates of self-harm vary at different ages and among different populations
The table below shows how self-harm rate varies depending on who you ask, at what age and about what time period:
| Talked about harming themselves | 2% | 9% |
| Harmed themselves in the past 4 weeks | 2% | 5% |
| Self-harmed in their lifetime | 9% | 37% |
| Parent report of children aged 8-16 years old | Self-report from young people aged 17-24 years old |
Worryingly, less than half of young people who self-harm receive any help at all, and only 19% get help from health services.
Every year, approximately 21,000 young people aged 12-17 years go to a hospital because they self-harmed.
