Young Persons’ Experiences of Inpatient Care for Self-Harm: A Qualitative Exploration

Young Persons’ Experiences of Inpatient Care for Self-Harm: A Qualitative Exploration | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Young Persons’ Experiences of Inpatient Care for Self-Harm: A Qualitative Exploration Francois Potgieter, Peter Martin This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4881976/v2 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Abstract In the UK, self-harm is a major healthcare problem. Self-harm is an especially common behaviour in young people admitted to psychiatric inpatient care and is one of the primary reasons for presenting to hospital. The management and treatment of self-harming behaviours can be challenging, and few treatment guidelines are available for inpatient settings. Poor understanding of self-harm and how to manage it effectively is likely to lead to staff feeling hopeless and helpless, but also to reduced support for the young people under their care. The current study constitutes an attempt to build on what is known by exploring young people’s reports on their experiences of inpatient treatment when presenting with self-harm. A grounded theory methodology was used to analyse the data. There were two key study aims which were: to obtain young people’s reports on their experiences of inpatient care when presenting with self-harm; and to integrate these views into a grounded theory that would serve as a model for understanding features of young persons’ experiences of inpatient care when presenting with self-harm. Semi-structured interviews were conducted at two NHS mental health inpatient units. Participants were a convenience sample of 10 young people, aged between 12 and 18 years. Analysis of these interviews was done in accordance with grounded theory. Two core concepts of humanness and restriction emerged from the data which contribute to the construction of meaning and understanding. Service implications and recommendations highlight the need for improved understanding, maintaining relationships and continued connection during admissions. The methodology contributed to developing a rich and detailed understanding of young persons’ experiences of inpatient care when presenting with self-harm. Self-harm inpatient care adolescents mental health grounded theory lived experience qualitative research Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4881976","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":341052204,"identity":"8bdcdb4b-a1cc-485d-afdd-428ed32c925f","order_by":0,"name":"Francois Potgieter","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA5ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBAC9gYwJQEiGB8wNhChhecAkDgA1MLDwMBsANHCTJQWBpAWNgnitDDwHnz84ZeFnD1777Pqwh11DObs/QcIaOFLNjjYJ2HMw3Pc7PbMM4cZLHsO47fFnoHHTOJgj0Rij0Qa223etgMMBjeSCTkMoqW+R/4ZWzFvWx2Dwf3HRGg58EMigUeCjY2Zt40ZaAsh7zMD/XK2QcKw50waszRv22EegzPJBvi1sPcefFDxp06evf0Y42egw+QMjh98gN8aZmCEMLYhu5QwAKn5Q4S6UTAKRsEoGLkAAC46PdZoDNEcAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Francois","middleName":"","lastName":"Potgieter","suffix":""},{"id":341052205,"identity":"dd7975ed-85f2-4ae9-b495-315108296876","order_by":1,"name":"Peter Martin","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Essex","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Peter","middleName":"","lastName":"Martin","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-08-08 15:02:51","currentVersionCode":2,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4881976/v2","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4881976/v2","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":91900009,"identity":"dee88d42-64b4-4872-90be-92efd74d111e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-09-22 20:18:42","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":287713,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Preprintfinalcopy.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4881976/v2_covered_603d5168-5b89-495c-8d35-622bae822b27.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eYoung Persons’ Experiences of Inpatient Care for Self-Harm: \u003c/strong\u003eA Qualitative Exploration\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Self-harm, inpatient care, adolescents, mental health, grounded theory, lived experience, qualitative research","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4881976/v2","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4881976/v2","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eIn the UK, self-harm is a major healthcare problem. 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