Social media blamed for big rise in girls self-harming

There has been a big rise in reports of girls self-harming - with experts suggesting digital media may be to blame.

Between 2011 and 2014, reports of self-harm among girls in Britain aged 13 to 16 rose by 68%.

The figures come from data collated by researchers from the University of Manchester.

They looked at records from 674 general practices, focusing on the number of 10 to 19-year-olds who had self-harmed.

Of all those who had self-harmed, almost three quarters (73%) were girls.

For girls aged 13 to 16 the rate rose from 45.9 cases per 10,000 individuals in 2011 to 77.0 cases per 10,000 in 2014.

The researchers said one of the reasons for such a high rate could be exposure to digital media.

They said while such technology can be "helpful and facilitate access to care...there is also a suggestion that extreme 'connectedness' could have detrimental effects".

Nav Kapur, professor of psychiatry and population health at the University of Manchester, said: "These results do emphasise the opportunity for earlier intervention in primary care to reduce suicide risk.

"It's very important that young people, parents and carers aren't unduly alarmed by these findings.

"We know that for many young people things get better and they no longer hurt themselves as adults.

"But of course we must take self-harm seriously; it's important to understand its underlying causes."

In about 55% cases of self-harm, there was no referral to mental health services recorded.

The report's authors said this suggested "less severe cases or possible reflection of the challenges in accessing specialist services in a timely manner".

Tom Madders, campaigns director at the charity YoungMinds, said: "The reasons behind self-harm can be complex, but we know that teenage girls face a wide range of pressures, including school stress, body image issues, bullying and the pressure created by social media.

"As a society, we also need to do more to prevent mental health problems from developing in the first place."

An NSPCC spokesman said: "Last year we held more than 15,000 counselling sessions about self-harm, and many young people who talked about suicidal feelings also mentioned self-harm.

"Self-harm can often be an expression of a deeper problem which is why early intervention services to support these children are vital."

Health Minister Jackie Doyle-Price said: "It's worrying to see the number of young people who self-harm and experience suicidal feelings is increasing, I want every young person to be able to seek and access help when they need it."

The study is published in the British Medical Journal.