Deliberate self-harm in Swedish university students – onset and relationships with anxiety and mindfulness

In English Objective: Previous research has indicated that some forms of deliberate self-harm (DSH) are quite common in non-clinical samples and that these behaviours are associated with psychological variables such as anxiety and mindfulness. This study contributes information on the onset and the frequency of DSH in two samples of Swedish university students as well as its association with related constructs and gender. Method: Two samples of Swedish university students (n=500 and n=187 respectively) filled out questionnaires on DSH. Results: In the first sample 30.8 % of the respondents reported DSH at least once in their life and in the second 18.9 % reported ongoing or recent DSH. In the second sample DSH was shown to be positively correlated with anxiety and negatively correlated with mindfulness. Conclusion: In this non-clinical sample DSH is quite frequent and the identified relationships with anxiety and mindfulness are relevant for prevention and treatment of such behaviour.