The findings, published in March, were drawn from a national study conducted by Singapore’s Institute of Mental Health (IMH) involving 2,600 respondents. It categorised behaviours such as cutting, burning, hitting or other forms of deliberate self-harm as non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI).
The median age that such self-harm starts is 14, while males typically have a second peak at around age 18, according to the study.
Roughly 11.6 per cent of respondents reported engaging in self-harm at least five times.
Cutting was the most prevalent form of self-injury, cited by about 13.5 per cent of respondents, followed by severe scratching, self-punching and headbanging.
Although NSSI is not formally classified as a mental disorder, experts have cautioned that it often reflects underlying psychological distress. Swapna Verma, chairman of IMH’s medical board, told The Straits Times that young people may turn to self-harm when overwhelmed by emotions they are unable to manage in healthier ways.
