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Cited by 70Suicide and Self-Harm StudiesHomicide, Infanticide, and Child AbuseMental Health Treatment and Access

Self-harm in British South Asian women: psychosocial correlates and strategies for prevention

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Husain, MI, Waheed, W, Husain, Nusrat·2006·Annals of General Psychiatry
DOI 10.1186/1744-859x-5-7
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Abstract

Objective: To review the rates of self-harm in British South Asian women, look into the factors that contribute to these high rates of self-harm and discuss possible strategies for prevention and provision of culturally sensitive service for South Asian women who harm themselves. Method: Review. Results: South Asian women are significantly more likely to self harm between ages 16–24 years than white women. Across all age groups the rates of self harm are lower in South Asian men as compared to South Asian women. These women are generally younger, likely to be married and less likely to be unemployed or use alcohol or other drugs. They report more relationship problems within the family. South Asian women are less likely to attend the ER with repeat episode since they hold the view that mainstream services do not meet their needs. Conclusion: South Asian women are at an increased risk of self harm. Their demographic characteristics, precipitating factors and clinical management are different than whites. There is an urgent need for all those concerned with the mental health services for ethnic minorities to take positive action and eradicate the barriers that prevent British South Asians from seeking help. There is a need to move away from stereotypes and overgeneralisations and start from the user's frame of reference, taking into account family dynamics, belief systems and cultural constraints.

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  • Women of South Asian family origin in the UK have a high prevalence of depression and self-harm, often in the context of severe and persistent social difficulties, which only become apparent when they are in a crisis.

    “Women of South Asian family origin in the UK have a high prevalence of depression and self-harm, often in the context of severe and persistent social difficulties, which only become apparent when they are in a crisis [17].”

    From Development and evaluation of culturally sensitive psychosocial interventions for under-served people in primary care (2014) · cites this paper as [17]

    The Introduction and the section on rates of deliberate self-harm report elevated self-harm risk among South Asian women in the UK. The prevention section says depressed South Asian women have a higher prevalence of depression than white women, and the precipitants section links self-harm to serious social difficulties. The paper describes self-harm as a last resort, but does not establish that those difficulties only become apparent when a woman is in crisis. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. Jones R: Black people and mental health services: Treading Water. Open Mind 2002, 114:19.
  2. Kreitman N: Parasuicide Chichester: John Wiley & Son; 1977.
  3. Bhugra D, Baldwin DS, Desai M, Jacob KS: Attempted Suicide in West London, II. Intergroup comparisons. Psychological Medi- cine 1999, 29(5):1131-1139.
  4. Guthrie E, Kapur N, Mackway-Jones K, Chew-Graham C, Moorey J, Mendel E, et al.: Randomised Controlled trial of brief psycho- logical intervention after deliberate self-poisoning. BMJ 2001, 323(7305):135-138.

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Authors
Husain, M., Waheed, W., & Husain, N.
Affiliations
  • University of Manchester (GB)
  • University of Toronto (CA)
Corresponding author
Husain, Nusrat
ORCID
Venue
Annals of General Psychiatry
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2006-05-22
Volume
5
Issue
1
Pages
7-7
ISSN
1744-859X (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/1744-859x-5-7
OpenAlex
W1504438957
Cited by
70
References
31
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 6
FWCI
1.85
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Annals of General Psychiatry (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) (publishedVersion)
  • TSpace (University of Toronto) (submittedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Homicide, Infanticide, and Child Abuse
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
Keywords
self-harm, British South Asian women, ethnic minority mental health, psychosocial risk factors, self-harm prevention, culturally sensitive mental health services, help-seeking barriers, family dynamics, relationship problems, young women, cultural beliefs

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