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Analysis and Health

Are UK teens in the grips of a self-harm epidemic? It's complicated

By Clare Wilson

30 August 2018

A fist punching a wall

Recent reports claim one in four teenage girls in the UK are self-harming

RUNSTUDIO/Getty

According to media reports, one in four teenage girls in the UK are self-harming, motivated by sexist stereotypes and pressures to look good in a selfie society. The suggest an epidemic among our nation’s youth, but the truth may not be as bleak as it first appears.

The stories came from a report by UK charity The Children’s Society, based on an ongoing survey of 11,000 children aged 14, called the .

Among the girls, 22 per cent…

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