Does Lent affect rates of deliberate self-harm?

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dc.check.date2021-02-14
dc.check.infoAccess to this article is restricted until 12 months after publication by request of the publisher.en
dc.contributor.authorMoloney, N.
dc.contributor.authorGlynn, K.
dc.contributor.authorHarding, E.
dc.contributor.authorMurphy, V.
dc.contributor.authorGulati, G.
dc.date.accessioned2020-05-05T11:59:12Z
dc.date.available2020-05-05T11:59:12Z
dc.date.issued2020-02-14
dc.description.abstractBackground: Research has shown that religious affiliation has a protective effect against deliberate self-harm. This is particularly pronounced in periods of increased religious significance, such as periods of worship, celebration, and fasting. However, no data exist as to whether this effect is present during the Christian period of Lent. Our hypothesis was that Lent would lead to decreased presentations of self-harm emergency department (ED) in a predominantly Catholic area of Ireland. Methods: Following ethical approval, we retrospectively analysed data on presentations to the ED of University Hospital Limerick during the period of Lent and the 40 days immediately preceding it. Frequency data were compared using Pearson’s chi-squared tests in SPSS. Results: There was no significant difference in the overall number of people presenting to the ED with self-harm during Lent compared to the 40 days preceding it (χ2 = 0.75, df = 1, p > 0.05), and there was no difference in methods of self-harm used. However, there was a significant increase in attendances with self-harm during Lent in the over 50’s age group (χ2 = 7.76, df = 1, p = 0.005). Conclusions: Based on our study, Lent is not a protective factor for deliberate self-harm and was associated with increased presentations in the over 50’s age group. Further large-scale studies are warranted to investigate this finding as it has implications for prevention and management of deliberate self-harm.en
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden
dc.description.versionPublished Versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.citationMoloney, N., Glynn, K., Harding, E., Murphy, V. and Gulati, G. (2020) ‘Does Lent affect rates of deliberate self-harm?’, Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine. doi: 10.1017/ipm.2020.3en
dc.identifier.doi10.1017/ipm.2020.3en
dc.identifier.eissn2051-6967
dc.identifier.issn0790-9667
dc.identifier.journaltitleIrish Journal of Psychological Medicineen
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/9899
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherCambridge University Pressen
dc.rights© 2020, College of Psychiatrists of Ireland. Published by Cambridge University Press. This material is free to view and download for personal use only. Not for re-distribution, re-sale or use in derivative works.en
dc.subjectDeliberate self-harmen
dc.subjectEmergency departmenten
dc.subjectIrelanden
dc.subjectLenten
dc.subjectReligious affiliationen
dc.titleDoes Lent affect rates of deliberate self-harm?en
dc.typeArticle (peer-reviewed)en
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