What do adolescent natal males choose to tell us about self-harm: a thematic analysis of self-harm vlogs

Self-harm has been described as a national health crisis amongst young people in the United Kingdom. It has become an area of growing interest in response to reports of increasing prevalence. Despite evidence that the behaviour is not solely restricted to females, the study of self-harm has been largely restricted to adolescent female samples, meaning that what is known about them is often extrapolated to provide an understanding of self-harm amongst adolescent males. In order to expand the limited evidence base on adolescent males and self-harm, this research investigated what natal males chose to share about their experiences in the vlogs they posted on You Tube. 14 vlogs were selected and analysed using thematic analysis to identify commonalities across the posts. The findings were represented in terms of six themes:Motives & Methods, Concealment, Addiction & Intensification, Emotional Expression, Thoughts about Help and Sharing Knowledge & Expertise. The study found that vloggers wanted to use their first hand experiences of self-harm to be a source of information,encouragement and support for those engaged in self-harm or those wanting to find out more about it. They wanted to let others who might be heading in the same direction as them know about the more obscure aspects of the experience which makes it difficult to stop. They spoke about how they managed the consequences of self-harming in order to maintain outward normalcy. The vlogs were delivered in a context of candour and emotional expressiveness. The limitations and implications of the study were discussed, as well as suggestions for future research.