NCJ Number
191142
Journal
Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Volume: 40 Issue: 11 Dated: November 2001 Pages: 1246-1253
Date Published
November 2001
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This pilot study took place in Manchester, England, and compared group therapy with routine care for adolescents who had deliberately harmed themselves on at least two occasions within a year.
Abstract
The single-blind study involved two randomized parallel groups totaling 63 adolescents ages 12- to 16-years-old. The research randomly assigned the participants to group therapy and routine care or to routine care alone. The routine care included family sessions and nonspecific counseling with the adolescent, as well as psychotropic medication when clinically indicated. The collection of outcome data on suicide attempts took place via interviews in 62 of the 63 individuals an average of 29 weeks later without knowledge of the treatment allocation. Results revealed that adolescents who received group therapy were less likely to have repeated deliberate self-harm on two or more further occasions than were the adolescents who had routine care, but the confidence intervals for this ratio were wide. The adolescents who had group therapy were also less likely than the others to use routine care, had better school attendance, and had a lower rate of behavioral disorder. However, the interventions did not differ in their effects on depression or global outcomes. The analysis concluded that group therapy has promise as a treatment for adolescents who repeatedly harm themselves, but larger studies are required to assess more accurately the effectiveness of this intervention. Figure, tables, and 36 references (Author abstract modified)