Teens with borderline personality disorder symptoms may shift from self harm to substance use over time

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2024-11-09 03:00

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Some teens with borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptoms who self-harm less following mental health treatment may be shifting from self-harm to drug or alcohol use, according to international researchers. The team studied a group of 277 teens and young adults who had been self-harming who attended a clinic for early intervention for possible BDP. The researchers attempted to follow up with this group for the next 2 years, getting updates on 135 of the patients after a year and 82 after two years. They say it was common for patients to have reduced self-harm behaviours after their treatment, however for some of these patients that decrease corresponded with an increase in substance use and the researchers say this pattern was associated with the emergence or persistence of stronger BPD symptoms. The researchers say this shows a decrease in self-harm alone may not indicate that a young person's mental health is improving.