O'Hare, K.Watkeys, O.Whitten, T.Dean, K.Laurens, K.R.Harris, F.Carr, V.J.Green, M.J.2022-08-252022-08-252022Journal of Affective Disorders, 2022; 310:279-2830165-03271573-2517https://hdl.handle.net/2440/136169Background: Childhood self-harm is rare but increasing in frequency. Little is known about risk factors specifically for self-harm in preteen children. Methods: We examined self-harm thoughts and behaviours in children aged 3–14 years in association with parental and community-level risk factors, using a large general population-based record linkage sample (n = 74,479). Results: Parental factors were strongly associated with childhood self-harm, with over three-quarters of children with self-harm having a parent with a history of mental disorder and/or criminal offending. Community-level factors (socioeconomic deprivation, remote or regional location, and neighbourhood crime rate) were not associated with childhood self-harm after adjustment for confounding factors. Limitations: Measures of self-harm thoughts and behaviours derived from administrative data likely underestimate the prevalence of self-harm in the population. Conclusions: Intergenerational transmission of risk factors is likely an important contributor to childhood self- harm.en© 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Self-injurious thoughts and behaviours, suicide, longitudinal, record linkageIntergenerational transmissionHumansPrevalenceRisk FactorsSelf-Injurious BehaviorParentsMental DisordersChildSuicidal IdeationJournal article10.1016/j.jad.2022.05.0502022-08-23613320Whitten, T. [0000-0001-8391-1990]