Concern Over Self-Harming

By NO BYLINE

MORE than half of adults in Scotland would not know how to help a young person who self-harms.

Up to one in ten teenagers in Scotland self-harm. Methods include cutting, burning and eating disorders. But a survey of 1,000 people by the mental health group SeeMe has found that 41 per cent of adults think young people self-harming are attention seeking and 34 per cent feel they are manipulative.

Linda Dunion, of SeeMe, said these negative attitudes were driving the low self- esteem of self-harmers.