Analysis: Self-harm - Wounds that tend to go further than skindeep

The act of deliberately cutting or burning oneself is unfathomable to most, yet it appears to be a growing phenomenon among teenagers. An Office of National Statistics survey of 11- to 15-year-olds in 2001 found that while suicide rates were far higher among male teens, self-harm was more common among females. It was also higher among those who were punished more frequently, had higher levels of family discord and experienced more stress in their lives.

Ask yourself why

Dinah Morley, acting director of mental health charity YoungMinds, suggests that self-harm could be a learned behaviour. "There is evidence of copycat behaviour, but rather than dismiss it as attention-seeking, you have to ask why they are seeking attention in such a brutal way," she says. "It could be seen as part of a continuum towards suicide or as protection from suicide by providing relief."