PhD Scientific Days 2022

Mental Health Sciences I. (Poster discussion will take place in the Aula during the Coffee Break)

The prevalence of self-injurious behavior between 2015 and 2020: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Text of the abstract

Introduction: In the last decade there is a growing interest in non-suicidal self-injury. The lifetime prevalence of the phenomenon is between 15 and 46% in population sample. There are conflicting results about the gender differences: some studies report higher prevalence among girls, while others did not report any significant difference. Also, there are conflicting results about the continental distribution of the prevalence and if the prevalence rates increases over time.

Aims: The aim of our study was to conduct a systematic search and metaanalysis on the prevalence of self-injurious adolescents over the past five years and examine the gender, continental and year differences.

Method: A systematic search was made on 18th June 2020 in six databases (Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Science, OVID Medline, PsycInfo, EBSCO) with three main search terms: self-injurious behavior, prevalence, and adolescence. Inclusion criteria were: articles written in English and published between 01.01.2015. and 18.06.2020 and studies on populational sample. The titles and abstracts of the articles were screened at first. After the relevant full texts that passed were read, and which met the inclusion criteria were collected. Comprehensive Meta-analysis Software was used to conduct analyses, and Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool for our risk of bias criteria.

Results: After the screening process 97 articles were included in the metaanalysis. The mean age of the sample ranged from 11.00 to 18.53 years. The overall average prevalence of non-suicidal self-injury in the studies was 16%. There was a significant gender difference: girls reported higher prevalence than boys (19.4% and 12.9% respectively). A significant higher prevalence was found among Asian articles than from other continents (19.5% and 14.7% respectively). The year of data collection did not have a significant effect on the prevalence of non-suicidal self-injury.

Conclusion: Current research draws attention to the high prevalence of non-suicidal self-injury among adolescents, especially among girls. It is important to address non-suicidal self-injury, both in terms of prevention and intervention.

Funding: Semmelweis University’s license was used for the systematic search, and Eotvos Lorand University’s license for the Comprehensive Meta-analysis Software.