Most research on self-harm focuses on psychological risk factors, but we have little information on biological factors that might increase the chances that young people may self-harm.
This is an area myself and colleagues are researching. Research over the past 30 years has shown that facing bad or adverse experiences early in life - such as abuse or neglect, having parents with criminal convictions or witnessing domestic violence - leads to people being at a higher risk of self-harm or attempting to end their life. We don't yet understand why this happens.
Early experiences can impact on the way the body works - changing hormones, influencing chemicals around genes and activating the immune system, for example. The effect of these on the body might increase the risk of self-harm - for example, by changing the levels of neurotransmitters in the brain that impact on mood.
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