Many People Self-harm
A staggering number of people have used self-harm as a way of coping with pain and distress. For example, between 13% and 20% of high school students reported a history of self-harm (Gratz, Conrad, & Roemer, 2002; Hawton et al., 2002; Paivio & McCulloch, 2004; Zoroglu et al., 2003). In the general public, about 4% of the population self-harm (Briere & Gil, 1998; Klonsky, Oltmanns, & Turkheimer, 2003). Given the widespread nature of self-harm, it’s impossible to say that a particular “type” of person self-harms. There are, however, some experiences or situations which may make people more vulnerable to self-harm.
