The Frequency of Self-harm Behaviors among University Students

One of the common problems among university students is self-harm behavior which has many negative consequences for the people involved and the society. The aim of this study is to investigate the frequency of occurrence of self-harm behavior in university students. The participants of this descriptive study include the entire undergraduate students of the University of Guilan in the academic year 2019-20. A total of 508 students (368 females and 140 males) are selected based on Convenience Sampling. For data collection, the Self-harm Inventory Questionnaire (SHI) is employed; moreover, descriptive statistics as well as Chi-square test are used. According to the findings, 17.8% of students have self-harm behavior. The results of Chi-square test reveal that there is no significant difference between male and female students in terms of the frequency of occurrence of direct, indirect and general self-harm behavior (P> 0.01). Burning the body, recklessness in driving, alcohol abuse and deliberate loss of job in male students and being involved in relationships that expose one to sexual abuse and deliberate self-starvation are more common in female students (p< 0.01).  Also, local and non-local university students and different age groups of students show significant different behavior in terms of direct and indirect self-harm (P<0.01). Based on the findings, it can be stated that self-harm is relatively common behavior among university students. As a result, these people need to be identified and treated in a timely manner to reduce the negative consequences of this kind of behavior.