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Epidemiology and Determinants of Self-Injury Among High School Students in Iran: a Longitudinal Study

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Abstract

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) among adolescents is a major health concern globally. The epidemiology and determinant of NSSI have not been studied extensively in Iran. Thus, this longitudinal study sought to investigate the prevalence, incidence and contributing factors of NSSI among adolescents in Iran. This study was conducted at high school students aged 14–18 years old in the metropolitan city of Tabriz, located in north western Iran. Data were collected from 6229 10th-grade students at two time-points, with 12 months interval in October and November 2017 and 2018. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect information on demographic, NSSI and cigarette and hookah smoking from the study participants. The results showed that lifetime prevalence of NSSI among students was 6.2% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 5.7 to 6.9) at the first assessment. Scratching and hair pulling were the most and least common methods of self-injury, respectively. Over the one year, 206 students (3.6% CI 95%: 3.1–4.1) reported the onset of NSSI. Tobacco smoking and previous year average grade were related to the incidence of NSSI. Although gender was significantly associated with the prevalence of NSSI, the relationship between gender and incidence of NSSI was not significant. Although the prevalence of NSSI was low among adolescents, the incidence rate was considerable. Further studies are required to understand the risk factors of NSSI in Iran.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to greatly acknowledge financial support for this study from Tabriz Health Services Management Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. The authors also wish to thank all the participants of this study for their valuable cooperation and participation.

Funding

This work received grant from Tabriz University of Medical Sciences (Grant no: 59339).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Statistics and Epidemiology, Faculty of Health, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

    Soudabeh Marin, Maryam Ataeiasl, Masoumeh Anbarlouei & Hadi Pashapour

  2. School of Health Administration, Faculty of Health, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada

    Mohammad Hajizadeh

  3. Tabriz Health Services Management Research Center, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

    Mohammad Hassan Sahebihagh

  4. Department of Community Health Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

    Hossein Nemati & Mahbobeh Mahmoodi

  5. Tabriz Health Services Management Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

    Asghar Mohammadpoorasl

Authors
  1. Soudabeh Marin
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  2. Mohammad Hajizadeh
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  3. Mohammad Hassan Sahebihagh
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  4. Hossein Nemati
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  5. Maryam Ataeiasl
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  6. Masoumeh Anbarlouei
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  7. Hadi Pashapour
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  8. Mahbobeh Mahmoodi
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  9. Asghar Mohammadpoorasl
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Contributions

Study design: AM, MHS, MAt, MAn and HN. Study conduct: AM, HN, MAt, MAn, HP, MM and SM. Data collection: HN, MAt, MAn, HP and MM. Data analysis: AM, MH and SM. Data interpretation: AM, MH, SM and MHS. Drafting manuscript: AM, SM, MAt, Man, HN and MM. Revising manuscript and content: AM, MHS and MH. Approving final version of manuscript: All authors. AM takes responsibility for the integrity of the data analysis.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Asghar Mohammadpoorasl.

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Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

This research was approved by the Ethics Committee in Tabriz University of Medical Sciences (ethical approval code: IR.TBZMED.REC.1396.929). The participants were told about the aim of study and were assured on the confidentiality of data. All participants and one of their parents signed a consent form before data collection.

Informed Consent

Before the start of the study, adolescents received written information about the study and they were all asked to provide their informed consent.

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Marin, S., Hajizadeh, M., Sahebihagh, M.H. et al. Epidemiology and Determinants of Self-Injury Among High School Students in Iran: a Longitudinal Study. Psychiatr Q 91, 1407–1413 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-020-09764-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-020-09764-z

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