How Many Teenage Girls Deliberately Harm Themselves? Nearly 1 in 4, Survey Finds. [nytimes.com]

Self harm is an emotional self regulation strategy.  Self harm connects to not having acquired emotional self regulation in childhood, common in a childhood rife with ACEs.

This is heartbreaking.  a couple of quotes: There are wide gaps in researchers’ understanding of self-harm, Dr. Monto noted: “Is adolescence more difficult in some states than in others? What does it actually mean to them when they do it? How is the behavior learned and regarded differently in different cultures?”

The practice is so widespread across both sexes that addressing it on a case-by-case basis — instead of as a public health problem — may be insufficient, the researchers said.

I would argue that we need to look at these behaviors through an ACEs & trauma informed lens to get to the root of the self harm and other harming behaviors among teens.  Wish researchers would study the the issue in this way.